A Change of Fate
by Charlie Waffles
Summary: What if Light wasn't the one who picked up the Death Note, and instead it was picked up by a new classmate; one with psychic powers at that? AU. (NOT up for adoption. I'll be keeping it, rewriting / improving the already written chapters, and then continue the story. Rewritten chapters will be posted as a new story. Once completely fixed, this version will be deleted).
1. Akira Yume

**Disclaimer: ****As this is a fanfic for the manga series "Death Note", to keep it feeling as realistic and as true to the original story/characters as possible, I will often make use of quotes, situations, and characters from the original series. For these parts I claim no ownership.**

**Author's Note: ****From now on I won't be putting disclaimers in this story. We all know this is a fanfic.**

Our story begins at the same time as it does in the manga series, "Death Note." Light Yagami is a senior in high school who is bored out of his mind, and the shinigami, Ryuk (who is also bored), drops his Death Note on Earth. Light sees the notebook magically appear on the ground while looking out his classroom's window, but instead of him picking it up, a boy that Light has never seen before picks it up. Light continues looking out his classroom window and loses interest in the notebook. He is now curious about who the boy is. After all, he has never seen the boy before and it appears that the boy is ditching class. After the boy flips through the notebook for a bit, Light sees him go into the school.

A few minutes later there is a knock at the classroom door and the bored Light turns to see who it is as the teacher opens it. He is surprised to see that it is the boy who picked up that notebook a few minutes ago.

The teacher announces to the class "Class, we have a new student. This is Akira Yume. Be sure that you treat him properly. After all, he is new here and has been living overseas for some time." The teacher whispers to Akira "How good is your Japanese?"

Akira looks at the teacher and smiles. "Oh, I'm fluent in both English and Japanese. My parents made sure of that."

The teacher nods. "Hmm, okay. Since there's only one seat left, you can sit... You know what, never mind." He points to the boy sitting in the desk in front of Light. "You there!" The teacher slams a textbook on the sleeping boy's desk.

The sleeping boy opens his eyes and jumps from surprise. "Huh?"

"No sleeping in class!" The teacher looks over and sees that the girl sitting next to the once sleeping boy is reading a manga. "And how many times have I talked to you about reading manga in class?"

The manga reading girl blushes red with embarrassment. "Sorry!" she says as she shoves the manga in her backpack.

The teacher sighs and then points to the boy who'd been asleep. "You go sit in the open seat in the back of the class."

The teacher continues by saying "Akira, you can sit here, in front of Light Yagami. If you need help with something, ask him. He's our ace student."

Akira takes his seat in front of Light and the teacher continues his lecture from before. As the teacher lectures, Light notices that Akira is quickly writing down as much the teacher says as possible. He thinks that this is pretty weird because no one in his class takes very many notes, himself included.

Some time later on the bell rings, signaling that it is now lunchtime. Light begins walking to the cafeteria when he hears someone calling his name.

When Light hears his name he turns around and sees that the one saying his name is Akira. He thinks to himself: _What does he want?_

Akira catches up to Light. "Hey Light, where's the cafeteria?" Akira then smiles sheepishly.

_Oh yeah, that's right. He's new. _"Just follow me. That's where I'm going right now."

Akira smiles. "Thanks."

The two begin walking to the cafeteria in silence. While walking, Light sees that Akira is carrying that strange notebook from before.

"Hey, uh, what's with the notebook?"

"Hm? Oh, I found this outside today. I was hoping to take a look at it and see what's in it."

"Right..."

Light and Akira enter the cafeteria and get their food. Akira eats his food quickly and begins looking at the notebook while Light eats at a normal pace and just observes Akira. The two are sitting at a table by themselves, near a window in the cafeteria.

"Hey Light. Check this out. This notebook says that it's a 'Death Note' and that this is a 'death god's notebook."

Light glances at the notebook. "Why's it all in English? This is Japan."

Akira shrugs. "Dunno, but take a look at this." He points to the first line on the inside of the cover. "How to use it: The human whose name is written in this note shall die."

Light shakes his head. "That's just sick. Why's everybody into this kind of crap anyway? It's like one of those dumb chain letters that say you'll get cancer if you don't pass them on."

Akira laughs. "Yeah. This looks like a pretty intricate prank though."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, there are tons of rules in this thing for how to use it, and they're pretty detailed too. Also, there's tons of conditions that have to be followed to make it work."

"What are you gonna do with it?"

"What do you think? I'm gonna keep it."

Light raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I think it's kinda cool. I wonder though… Should I test it?"

Light raises an eyebrow again. "On who?"

"I dunno, but it'd have to be tested on someone bad. Someone who deserved to die. A criminal, not some innocent bystander..."

The bell rings, signaling that lunch is now over. Light and Akira head back to class. Some time later on, school ends and the two begin walking home. Coincidentally, the two boys have to go the same direction. Akira's house comes up first and the two part ways.

Akira smiles. "See ya. I'll tell you tomorrow if this thing actually works." He waves the Death Note.

"Okay. Bye."

Light continues walking home while Akira walks inside his house after unlocking the front door.

While walking home Light wonders: _If that notebook really has the power to kill people, would that make him a murderer if he uses it?_ Light quietly laughs to himself. _There's no way that a notebook could kill someone. Why am I even thinking about that?_

**Author's Note:**

**Please review/comment.**


	2. Test

When Akira gets inside his house he goes up to his room and begins thinking about who he should test the Death Note on. He sets it on his bedroom desk when he thinks about what it means if it does work though. A little while later, Akira turns on the television in his room and begins watching the news. Apparently a man wounded 6 people the day before and now is barricading himself inside a nursery school with 8 hostages, including small children. On the television there is a picture of the man with his name written underneath. Akira decides that this is who he will test the Death Note's powers on. He walks over to his desk and opens the Death Note to the first page. Then he writes the man's name down and waits to see what happens.

Meanwhile, when Akira is watching the news, Light is watching the same news program.

Light thinks: _If Akira's watching this right now, this would be the perfect person for him to test the Death Note on... Wait a minute. What am I saying?_

About one minute later Light sees on the television that the hostages are coming out and soon finds out that their captor is now dead. The apparent cause of death is heart attack.

_Dead? A heart attack? It could just be a coincidence. I'm sure that it couldn't be Akira. Yeah, there's no way a notebook actually has the power to kill people.  
_

Light's mom yells up the stairs "Light! It's 6:25 already. You have your prep course today."

Light jumps from surprise. "Uh, yeah. I was just getting ready to go." He grabs his bag and puts on his jacket, and then he leaves the house.

While Light is at his college prep course, he thinks: _Did Akira kill that man?_ When the class ends, Light begins walking home...

After the man on the television dies, Akira is in a state of awe.

_The Death Note actually works! But... wait a minute. It could just be a coincidence_. He walks downstairs. "Hey Mom? Do we need anything from the store?"

"It's 7:00 at night... but we do need some more bread... Here's the money for it." She looks through her purse and hands over some money to Akira. "If there's anything left over, buy yourself something sweet." She then smiles.

"Thank you." Akira goes upstairs, puts on his jacket, and leaves the house. He then begins heading for the store.

As soon as Akira leaves the house, his mother thinks: _Such a good son. Offering to go run errands... though at strange hours. I wonder why he wanted to..._

On his way to the store Akira sees a woman being harassed by a couple of men on motorcycles, especially by the one in the middle.

Akira thinks to himself: _Maybe... I should try the Death Note on him._ He hears the man telling his name to the woman. _Yup. Perfect test subject._ He then writes the man's name into the Death Note with the cause of death being "traffic accident."

About a minute later the woman runs from the man on the motorcycle, and as she is chased by him, a truck smashes into the man, completely crushing him. At this moment, Light and Akira are at the same place, just on opposite sides of the street. Both have looks of horror on their faces as they witness the dreadful scene before them. The two make eye contact and Light knows now that the Death Note works, based off the miserable expression on Akira's face. Akira is frozen with horror.

Akira thinks worriedly: _This… This proves it... The… The Death Note really works... I... I've killed two people... I've killed... two people... me... What should I do?_ He walks away from the scene of the accident and begins crying in a nearby alleyway.

Light follows Akira and sees him crying on the ground. "Akira... that was you just now wasn't it? And that guy who was holding hostages at that nursery school was you too, right?"

Akira nods his head glumly and starts crying again. "What am I gonna do? I'm a monster! I just killed two people!"

Light walks over to Akira. "The fact that you're crying about what you did means that you're not a monster. You actually feel bad about what happened. And the people you killed... they weren't good people. They had it coming to them." He frowns. "The first guy you killed... Well, you were actually doing a service, killing him..."

Akira is still crying. "Yeah, but what about the second guy? What he did wasn't worth the death penalty!"

"Do you want to give me the Death Note? I could hold on to it if you don't want it."

Akira's tear-drenched face carries a look of shock. "This thing is evil! It needs to be destroyed!"

"Akira... do you realize just how much good you could do with it?"

Akira looks like he's about to start crying again. "What?"

"Never mind. You know, you look like a wreck. I'm gonna take you home. C'mon."

**Author's Note:**

**Please review/comment.**


	3. Mother

**Author's Note: In the previous chapter, Akira completely forgot to buy bread because of the incident.**

Akira gets up from the ground looking absolutely miserable. Light then walks with Akira until they reach Akira's house. Light rings the doorbell because Akira had forgotten his key at home.

Akira's mom opens the door. "Aki-chan?" She notices the look of absolute misery on her son's face. "What's wrong? What happened?" She looks at Light.

Light begins telling her what happened. "There was a car accident. This guy -"

Akira starts crying madly.

"Was hit by a truck and -"

Akira's crying grows louder.

"Was killed."

The jaw of Akira's mom drops. "Oh my god! Aki-chan come inside." She looks at Light. "You too."

The three go inside and sit in the living room.

Akira's mom looks at her son. "Aki-chan, sweetie, I think you should go take a shower. It'll make you feel better."

Akira nods, his face still drenched with tears, and goes upstairs.

Akira's mom waits until her son has left the room before talking to Light. "So, um, how do you know my son?"

"We're classmates. He just joined my class today."

"Are you two friends now?"

"Kinda... we just met today though."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." She smiles sheepishly, then frowns. "Akira's always had a hard time making friends, so I was just hoping that he had made one."

"Why's he have a hard time making friends?"

"Well, he's shy and very emotional. Girls tend to find him annoying and guys pick on him for being so 'girly."

"I don't think that he's annoying or really girly... but I also don't know him too well either… He seems nice though."

"He is. It's just so sad to see him alone all the time. I know he gets lonely not having anyone but family to talk to and hang out with."

"So why aren't people friends with him? Just because he's a bit emotional? That's stupid. There's gotta be some other reason."

"Hmm. You're probably right. Maybe people can tell that he's -" She stops talking by covering her mouth.

"Huh? What?"

"Ah, it's not important." She smiles sheepishly.  
In the kitchen, the oven is beeping, saying that what has been cooking is done now.

Akira's mom changes the subject. "So, uh, do you want any cookies?"

"Um, no thanks. I actually have to be getting home. My parents are probably wondering where I am… Oh, can you tell Akira that I hope he feels better and that I'll see him at school tomorrow?"

"Sure, but I don't think he's going to school tomorrow. He seems pretty upset. You could come here after school though and see him. I'm sure he'd like that."

"Yeah. Sure thing."

"Oh, by the way, what's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm Light Yagami."

"Okay. Goodbye." She smiles and shuts the door when Light leaves.

Akira comes downstairs, hair still wet from the shower and face still sad, wearing a comfortable pair of black pajamas. He looks at his mom and frowns. "Did you tell him?"

"No." She smiles sadly.

Akira sighs. "You partially told him. I'm guessing you said that I'm the kid nobody wants to be around for some reason and that you nearly blurted out a certain smidgeon of information that would have driven the one prospective friend of mine away."

Akira's mom blinks with surprise. "You're dead-on today. You're really good at reading people as if they were open books. Maybe you should work in Criminal Law."

Akira smiles for a second and then frowns.

"Come on Aki-chan. The man didn't die because of you."

Akira's eyes well up with tears because he knows the man did die because of him.

Akira's mom brings him to the kitchen and gives him a plate of chocolate chip cookies. "Here. I know you love chocolate chip cookies, so maybe this'll make you feel better."

Akira smiles sadly. "Thanks." _I seriously doubt that cookies are gonna make me forget all of a sudden that I killed two people today._ He eats the cookies and does end up feeling a little better.

When Akira goes upstairs to brush his teeth his mother tells him that he's not going to school the next day and that Light said he will come by after school. This makes Akira feel a little better, but his mood is worsened when he sees the Death Note on his desk. He shoves it in a drawer and goes to sleep. All night he is tortured with nightmares…  
When Light finally gets home and explains what had happened to his parents, he gets ready for bed. Later on, while laying in his bed, ready to fall asleep, a question pops into his head.

_What was Akira's mom hiding from me? _Light then drifts off into sleep.

Light also has nightmares that night, but they are not nearly as awful as Akira's.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review/comment.**


	4. Manga

The next day, after school, Light goes by Akira's house. Akira lets him inside and the two go up to Akira's room.

Light looks at the many bookshelves filled completely with books. _Wow. He sure has a lot of books in here._

"Oh, I forgot to lock the front door. I'll be back in just a sec." Akira smiles sadly and leaves the room.

Light walks around the room and picks a random book off of one of the bookshelves. _Hm? A manga?_ He flips through it and then stops when he reaches a certain page. _I see..._ He raises an eyebrow. _Now I get it._

Akira comes back into the room, sees Light holding the manga, and gasps. "What are you reading?" He has a fearful look on his face.

"Nothing. Just one of your manga."

Akira is obviously worried now. Light is amused a bit by this so he pretends that he has not opened the manga yet.

"Can you please put that down?"

"Why? I'm interested in finding out what it's about."

Akira begins begging. "Please."

Light smiles. "Nah. I don't think so."

Akira goes and tries to take the manga out of Light's hands and instead ends up tripping, which results in him knocking Light on to the floor. The two wind up being in an awkward position.

Now Akira is on top of Light on the floor and Akira turns bright red. Light raises an eyebrow and Akira gets off of him as quickly as possible. Light is still holding the manga, and when he stands up he waves it.

Light smiles. "Still got it."

Akira sighs. "You've already looked inside, huh?"

"Yup."

Akira sighs again.

"Now I know what your mom was hiding from me yesterday. You read shonen-ai?"

Akira is blushes red with embarrassment. "Yeah."

"You're gay?" Light raises an eyebrow.

Akira bites the inside of his cheek and looks at the floor. "Yeah." He sighs miserably.

Light begins to laugh. "Wow. I'm not really surprised. I guess I should've known though."

An annoyed Akira asks "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that no straight guy would've cried in front of another guy as much as you did yesterday. Even if they felt awful about killing someone, they would've held their tears till they were alone. You were bawling like a baby though."

"I was not."

Light raises an eyebrow again. "Oh really?"

Akira hesitates before responding. "Okay, I guess I did. You are still gonna be friends with me, right?" He is now worried.

"Yeah. What makes you think I wouldn't?"

"Well the first day you met me I killed two people and the next you find out that I'm gay."

"Oh yeah…"

"By the way, last night you were saying something about using the Death Note for good. What did you mean?"

"Well, I was thinking that the Death Note could be used to kill off evil people. We could create a crime-free society with it. Create a utopia. We could change the world with it. Truth be told, we're probably the only people that could do it, so we should do it."

"Huh. Wow. You're really quite optimistic aren't you? The thing is though… I don't want to kill people and I'm still shook up about yesterday…" He frowns.  
"Only evil people would be killed. Major criminals. That's it."

"It's still gonna take me a while to get over the deaths of those two people yesterday."

"Well... do you think that maybe I should use the Death Note? I mean, it's gonna take a while to create a utopia, so the sooner we start, the better."

"And you'll only kill major criminals?"

"Of course."

Akira hesitates for a moment, then takes the Death Note out of his desk drawer and gives it to Light. "Fine. I'm tired of looking at this thing anyways."

**Author's Note:**

**Please read and review/comment.**


	5. Shinigami

Five days later, Light and Akira go to Akira's house after school. Both Light and Akira sigh with relief when they see the Death Note safely tucked away in one of Akira's desk drawers. (Akira had put it there yesterday because he felt Light was killing too many people in such a short amount of time).

Ryuk suddenly appears out of nowhere. "Huh? You two are sharing it?"

Light and Akira turn around and see the shinigami. "AAARGH!"

"Why're you so surprised to see me? I'm Ryuk, the shinigami who dropped that notebook. The way you two were acting just now, I can tell you know it isn't just any old notebook, right?"

Light and Akira look at each other. "A 'Death God."

Light is the first one to get the courage to talk to the monstrous looking creature. "Well I'm not surprised to see you, Ryuk. In fact, I've been waiting for you."

"Really?"

"I figured you'd show up and want your notebook back."

"That notebook belongs to you two now... Well one of you anyways. The moment a Death Note lands in the human world, it belongs to the human world. If you don't want it, give it to another human. When you do, I'll just have to erase all your Death Note memories. Since you two have used what was my notebook, you're the only ones who can see me. Nobody else can hear me either, of course."

Akira finally speaks to the shinigami. "So there really is no price to pay for using the Death Note?"

"Not exactly, but there is the terror and torment that only humans who've used it will experience, and when you die, I'll be the one writing your name down. Oh and don't think that any human who's used the Death Note can go to heaven or to hell. You'll find out about that after you die." He laughs creepily.

Akira shivers. _He's scary._

Light smiles. "That just means there is no heaven or hell, right?"

"I thought that all humans seriously believed in heaven and hell, but yeah, you're right. Death is equal."

Akira continues thinking rather than talking. _Well that kind of sucks... though that is for the best... I guess..._

"So why'd you drop the notebook? Don't tell me it was all by mistake, after you went and wrote all those instructions in it."

"Why did I drop it? Because I was bored, that's why. It might be a weird thing for a shinigami to say, but I just didn't feel like I was really alive. Shinigami these days don't have a lot to do. All they do is nap or gamble. If they see you scribbling humans' names into your Death Note, they say, 'What're you working so hard for?' and laugh at you. I'm in the Shinigami's realm, so killing people in the human world isn't any fun. But if I write the names of Shinigami into the Death Note, they don't die. It's more fun to be here, is how I figured it."

"Hmm..." Light opens the Death Note and shows it to Ryuk. "What do you think?"

Ryuk laughs. "Wow, this is amazing. Gotta say, I'm surprised. I've heard of Death Notes getting down to the human world a few times before, but no one's ever done this many in just five days. Most people would be too scared... I gotta say though, you really wrote a lot of names in here."

"Well, we're using the Death Note to change the world and make it a better place. Of course I wrote a lot of names in it. Sure there have been some side effects, such as difficulty sleeping, but we're on a mission here. As a result, we're writing in the names of the world's most brutal criminals. All we need to get the data is a television with 24 hour world news and the internet, and we have access to both."

"Okay, but you only specified the cause of death for the guy who got hit by a truck, nobody else. How come? Can't be bothered?"

Akira frowns after the mentioning of the man that was hit by a truck.

"Well... Akira was the one who wrote the first two names in the Death Note, to see if it actually worked. All the others so far have been written by me. To me it's simplest to just write the names in. It's more time-consuming to write a specific cause of death."

"Which one of you actually owns the Death Note?"

Light and Akira say simultaneously. "We both do."

"Only one person can own the Death Note. Which one of you picked it up first?"

"Akira did."

Ryuk turns to Akira. "Huh. So you own the Death Note..." He then turns to Light. "...but you're the one who writes the names in it. Why's that?"

"Akira's having a bit of a hard time dealing with the fact that he's killed two people."

Ryuk laughs. "I guess you'll be owning the Death Note soon since your friend doesn't want to use it."

Akira says quietly "I will use it. Just not yet."

"You know, I'm gonna end up writing both of your names into my Death Note someday..." Ryuk laughs.

Akira is once again frightened though Light doesn't seem affected by what Ryuk just said.

"Just so you know, I have to stay around whoever has my notebook, just in case..." Ryuk laughs again.

"Well, since Akira and I will both be using the Death Note, how about you just follow whichever of us has it?"

"Okay." Ryuk laughs. _These two are gonna end up fighting over the Death Note. Humans are fun!_

**Author's Note:**

**Please read and review/comment.**


	6. First Move

About a week or so later, Akira, Light, and Ryuk are at Light's house. Still Light is the only one using the Death Note... Meanwhile, at a G8 summit, Interpol is discussing the issue of there being so many criminals dying from heart attacks all over the world. It is during this time that L makes contact with Interpol, through Watari. He decides to begin his test to find out where Kira is, in Japan.

Back at Light's house, Akira sits on Light's bed listening to some rock music on his IPod while Light writes names of criminals into the Death Note. During this time, Ryuk is watching what Light is doing, while eating an apple.

Ryuk says "I gotta say, you're really dedicated to this."

Light turns to look at the shinigami. "Hmm? Well, I don't have time to waste, Ryuk. I only have a few hours a day to write names into the notebook between getting home from school and going to bed. It's important that I stay at the top of my class, so I can't sleep in class, and I have to do all my homework for school and my prep course. But I need to get enough sleep, because if I don't, it'll affect my health and concentration. I'm ridding the world of evil and creating a utopia. No matter how much time I have, it won't be enough... It also doesn't help that Akira's not using the Death Note either right now." He looks at Akira.

Akira raises his hands and smiles sheepishly. "Sorry. I promise I'll use it soon though." He looks at Ryuk. "You seem to really like that apple I gave you." He smiles.

"Apples in the human world are... how do you say... juicy."

"Aren't apples like that in the Shinigami's realm? Or do you not have apples there?"

"Apples there are dry... like sand."

"That must suck... I just thought of something. Do shinigami need to eat to live?"

"No, we don't need to sleep either. All we need to live is to write down the names of humans into our notebooks."

"Ah, okay." Akira smiles.

While Akira and Ryuk were talking, Light was browsing the Internet.

"Hey, check this out".

"Hm?" Akira and Ryuk turn to see what Light is talking about and go to Light's sides.

"People are already putting up websites." Light shows them a website that talks about "Kira."

Akira notices this and is afraid. "Um, Light, do all these sites refer to the one killing off the bad guys as 'Kira?"

"Well, the media still refers only to 'the series of mysterious deaths among violent criminals,' but yeah. All you have to do is Google 'Kira,' and you find tons of sites like this."

"Aw man! This sucks! I haven't been killing people, yet still everyone pretty much knows it's all my fault!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Um, hello? 'Kira.' 'Akira.' Duh."

Ryuk laughs at this.

Light sighs. "It's just a name. There's no way you could even remotely be suspected right now."

After Light says this, Akira calms down. Light then turns on the television that he has right next to his computer. A news report is on.

The news reporter says "We are interrupting the program to bring you a live, globally televised broadcast from Interpol, with Japanese voice-over by interpreter Yoshio Anderson."

"L" is on the television. "I am Lind L. Tailor, more commonly known as 'L' - the sole person able to mobilize police in every country worldwide."

Light and Akira look at each other. "What the hell?"

"Criminals have been the target of a killing spree, which has turned into the biggest mass murder case in history. This monstrous crime must be stopped at all costs. 'Kira,' as the perpetrator is commonly known, will be caught. I guarantee it... Kira, I think I've got a pretty good idea of why you're doing this, but what you are doing is evil!"

Light is angered by this and begins to write his name into the Death Note.

Akira sees Light writing the man's name into the notebook and grabs his arm. "No! Only criminals, remember?" Akira takes the Death Note away from Light.

Light is still angry. "He's saying that what we're doing is evil, when we're saving this world!"

"Light, you promised me that you'd only kill evil people that deserved to die with the Death Note! This guy isn't evil! We can't just go killing people that try to catch us! If we do, then we're just as bad as the people we kill!"

Light thinks for a moment about what Akira said and sighs. "Fine, I won't write his name into the notebook..."

"Good. You know, I think it's time for me to take the notebook for a bit. Give you a break... If you just think about it, I don't think we'll be caught. After all, it's not as if anyone has any proof. We're the ones who have the Death Note right now."

Light and Akira look back at the television.

"L" is still talking. "... Police worldwide have launched a coordinated investigation..."

Akira and Light continue watching the news broadcast, and eventually the man who was pretending to be L is taken away, alive, not dead like in the original story of Death Note. The news broadcast ends, leaving the real L confused.

L wonders: _Is Kira in Japan, or did he simply not kill "me" because I wasn't a criminal as far as he knew?  
_  
L continues to have the broadcast be shown in different regions of Japan. When, still, nothing happens, L again wonders if Kira is in Japan or not. L continues to have the broadcast be shown, but in different areas of the world, at different times within the same week. Still nothing happens...

**Author's Note:**

**Please read and review/comment.**


	7. Peaceful Death

About a week after Interpol's broadcast was shown in Japan, Akira is at home, browsing the Internet. It is nighttime and Light is at his own house. Ryuk is with Akira right now since he has the Death Note at the moment.

Akira thinks while saying "Hmm..."

Ryuk looks at Akira. "What's up?"

"Well, I was just thinking about that broadcast that L was in."

"What about it?"

"I was just thinking that something about the whole thing was kinda off. You know? I mean, L is supposed to be the greatest detective in the world, and criminals have been dying that have their names and faces on the T.V. You would think that he'd consider the possibility that he could be killed by Kira for going against him. Also, he had his name all posted right on the desk in front of him."

"So?"

"Wouldn't it be interesting if that man wasn't L, but someone pretending to be him? And if L did indeed realize that Kira may kill whoever claims to be him, don't you think that he'd use someone who was going to die soon anyway? And I think he'd probably use a criminal, probably a death-row inmate, because he's supposed to be a good guy, and using a sick person would be cruel. And if that's the case, that means he made sure to use a death-row inmate that no one knows about. By doing that, he could get his point across without any chance of being harmed, a death-row inmate could possibly be put to death for free, and he wouldn't have to worry about Kira already having killed the person already. And if that's the case... L's little speech was actually a test for Kira..."

Ryuk laughs. "That's a lot of 'ifs."

Akira types "L news report" into the Google search engine and finds that people from all around the world have been commenting on it on their blogs.

"I knew it... It was a test for Kira... He probably had his little speech broadcasted at different times on different days in different places. That means that he had expected Kira would kill 'him.' If that's the case, if Light had killed that man who claimed to be L, then L would know where Kira is, which means that me and Light would be screwed right now." Akira sighs. "I guess it is a good thing that I stopped Light from killing that man... Who the hell is Lind L. Tailor though?"

Akira begins to look for information about Lind L. Tailor. The average person wouldn't have been able to find the truth about him on the internet, but the thing about Akira is that, while he appears to be childlike, he is highly intelligent and extremely good with computers. As a result, Akira is able to find out that Lind L. Tailor is actually a death-row inmate. When Akira finds this out, he writes the man's name into the Death Note, and writes "Peaceful Death" for the cause of death, right next to it.

This whole past week, while Akira has been in possession of the Death Note, he has been writing the names of brutal criminals, rapists, and child molesters into the notebook. Even though he hates the acts these people have committed, he writes down "Peaceful Death" as the cause of death beside each of their names.

Akira has now permanently changed the course of Light's fate.

**Author's Note:**

**Please read and review/comment.**


	8. Presents

The next day, Akira goes over to Light's house to tell him what he has learned about Lind L. Tailor and what he thinks L was trying to achieve. When he tells him, Light is surprised, but he is pretty calm overall.

"Light, why the hell are you so calm about all this? L was trying to trick us and you don't even care?"

"I already came to that conclusion a while ago. I just didn't think I needed to tell you." Light sits in his chair, shrugging.

"What the hell! You could have had the courtesy to tell me rather than just keep it to yourself!"

"Don't worry. I have a plan. First though we need to find a safe place to put the Death Note. It's not really a bright idea to walk around with the murder weapon and only real source of evidence tying us to the murders."

Akira blinks. "Uh, yeah… that's true… What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I did a few tests the other day, and I figure that we could create false bottoms in our desk drawers."

"That doesn't sound too complicated."

"The only thing that we have to worry about is having our desks catch fire -"

"Wait! What?"

Light sighs. "Don't worry. It isn't likely that anything will catch fire. It's just a precaution in case someone realizes that there's a false bottom in the drawer the Death Note is stored in."

Akira frowns. "Okay… where would we store the Death Note?"

"I just said in our desk drawers." Light looks at Akira as if he is stupid.

Akira glares at Light, and Ryuk laughs. Then Light and Akira leave the Yagami house and walk to the "Home Improvement" store.

Once there, Akira is no longer angry with Light and looks at the list of supplies they need for the false drawer bottoms. While Akira looks at the list, he comes to a realization. "Hey Light, isn't Christmas coming up in a few days?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It is, isn't it?"

"What do you want for a present?"

"Isn't the present supposed to be a surprise?"

"It can be, but I prefer just getting things that I know the person wants and will use."

Light thinks for a moment before responding. "There's nothing I really want right now. I have the Death Note, and everything else I could want I already pretty much have."

"Oh…" Akira looks at Ryuk. "What do you want for Christmas?"

Ryuk looks surprised. "Hmm? Can I have anything I want?"

"Sure, why not?"

"The thing I want most right now… is… you know."

Akira's frightened now. *My soul?*

"The Game Boy Advance SP. The Silver Version."

"Um, that's kind of expensive…but… okay." Akira smiles.

Light sighs. "Akira, you're a bit of a fool. I mean, since when do shinigami celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ?"

Akira raises an eyebrow. "Since when do you? I thought you were agnostic."

Light smiles slightly. "You've got a point there. Celebrating Christmas is pretty much just about presents nowadays than about religion… At least in most cases anyways."

"In my family it's just about presents. My whole family's agnostic."

"Huh, that's interesting to know."

By now Light has finished finding all the supplies needed to make the false bottoms for their desk drawers. Once Light finishes paying for the items, they head for Akira's house to begin their project.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	9. Friends

When Akira and Light get inside the Yume house, they head upstairs to Akira's room to begin making a false drawer bottom for his desk. Light begins working immediately.

"Hey, Light, do you need any help?"

"No."

"Really?" Akira looks doubtful.

"Trust me. I don't think it's that hard."

"Right…" Akira goes and plops himself on his bed, laying down out of boredom.

"Hey, Light. I just thought of something."

Light keeps working. "What?"

"Do you have any friends? Besides me, of course."

"Yeah. Of course I do."

"But I never see you talking to anyone really. You kind of keep to yourself. I mean, granted I know that sometimes those two guys walk home with us, and I'm sure you used to walk home with them before I showed up, but other than that, you don't socialize much."

"I think I socialize just enough."

"Uh-huh, right. Sure thing."

"You don't believe me? What about you? You never really talk to anyone besides me."

Akira laughs. "That's because I'm shy."

Light shakes his head but continues working. "You don't seem so shy when you're around me."

"Well… hmm… I guess that's because… you're special." Akira smiles to himself.

"Why's that?"

"It seems like we're kind of on the same wavelength or something."

"What? Don't tell me you believe in magical nonsense."

"It's not so much magical as… psychic stuff."

"You don't even know what the hell it is you're talking about." Light shakes his head again.

**Author's Note:**

**Please Review**


	10. Lovers

"Okay, let's go on to another topic. Have you ever dated anyone?"

Light stops working for a moment and looks back at Akira. "Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"Nope. Completely serious."

"Well, yeah. I've been on dates with quite a few girls… I get asked out often actually."

"That's… kind of unusual. Usually loner-types can't seem to get a date at all."

Light smirks. "It's because I'm good-looking. If I were ugly, then I wouldn't ever get asked out. But because I'm attractive, the girls flock to me."

Akira frowns to himself. "Arrogance and pride are very unattractive traits that will lead to your downfall in the end…"

"What?" Light is annoyed now.

"It's just something my mom taught me. Basically arrogance and pride corrupt people and eventually cause them to suffer."

"Well I don't have to worry. I don't have either of those."

"And lying to yourself and others brings pain to all…"

"Jeez, enough with that weirdness already! Have you ever dated anyone?"

"Yes."

Light is completely surprised. "What? How's that even possible? Your mom told me you could hardly even make friends!"

"Well, yes, that's true, but I did date someone before."

"A guy?"

"Yup."

"So let me get this straight. You couldn't make friends because you're gay, but you were able to date someone because you're gay? That doesn't make sense. People usually start off as friends before they become lovers."

"You know, all you asked me is if I've ever dated before. That could refer to just one date with one person one time, or it could refer to a long-term relationship. Your question was vague, yet you're thinking way too much about this."

"So was it the first of what you said?" Light is now looking at Akira.

Akira laughs. "No it was the second. You made the right assumption the first time."

Light frowns with annoyance. "How the hell did that happen?"

Akira doesn't realize that the question is rhetorical so he begins to answer him. "Well, even though I didn't have any friends, I lived in a well-to-do neighborhood. The neighborhood I lived in was somewhere between upper and middle class because my parents make quite a bit of money. As a result, the kids that lived near me that went to my school liked to throw a lot of parties, and since it was the rich popular kids that threw the parties the majority of the time, I just went to their parties, uninvited. The reason why I went to any of these parties was simply out of boredom. You wouldn't believe how much simpler homework is in America than in Japan. It's a lot less stressful. Anyways, one of the times I went to one of these parties I met a guy there. He was really nice, really good-looking, and really flipping drunk."

Light is paying complete attention to Akira telling his story. "Don't tell me you…"

Akira sighs with irritation. "No you idiot. Just because I'm gay it doesn't mean I'm some sort of slut."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"It's okay. All that happened was that we ended up talking, and what-do-you-know, I found out he was gay too. It was kind of a shocker that he told me since everyone at our school was pretty much a homophobe… Then some time after that we started dating. We dated for about… two years, I think."

"Did you two ever, you know?"

Akira raises an eyebrow. "Have sex? Yeah. Sure. We did it towards the end of our relationship. Over a year had passed since we had started dating, and we figured that we may as well try it out." Akira shrugs. "No biggie. It's not like we did it all the time or something, and we were totally safe too."

"Uh-huh. Well, I've got to go. The drawer's all set to go." Light then shows Akira how to get the Death Note out of the drawer without setting his desk on fire, and Akira puts a notebook inside the drawer so it looks like that is what he is hiding in his desk under lock-and-key.

Just as Light begins to leave, Akira stops him. "Hey, Light. It's your week to hold on to the Death Note."

"Oh, right. Thanks." Light takes the notebook out of Akira's hands and leaves the house in a hurry.

On the way home, Light thinks to himself: *I need to get a girlfriend. Immediately.*

**Author's Note:**

**Please Review**


	11. Shadow

_**Author's Note: When Light is thinking that he needs to get a girlfriend, he is not really interested in getting a girlfriend. It's just that the fact that Akira has been in a long-term relationship before and is not a virgin, while Light has never been in a serious relationship before and is a virgin, puts a downer on Light's ego. Remember, Light is arrogant and prideful. He's a narcissist who always has to be #1 at everything.**_

The whole time Akira had been in possession of the Death Note, Light had been making plans. Secretly he had taken a few pieces of the Death Note so he could do some experimenting with the notebook. (He was smart enough to know that Akira would never knowingly agree to let him do such a thing). On one day, Light killed 23 criminals held prison, killing them one by one, on the hour, by the Death Note. Then he killed 23 more prisoners with the Death Note the following day.

While the police had been wondering where Kira was, they had reached a conclusion: Kira must be a student. Once all of those prisoners were killed in the way that they were, they figured that perhaps Kira was not a student though. L had done a lot of thinking about the case and had come to the conclusion that Kira was indeed in Japan and that Kira could control the time of death of those he killed. Because it appeared that Kira somehow had knowledge that only the NPA could have, L figured that Kira was either a member of the NPA or somehow connected to them. As a result, he called up the head of the FBI and got them to send FBI agents from America to Japan to probe members of the NPA and their close friends and family.

It just so happened that Light got hold of the Death Note again the day just before the day a member of the FBI began trailing him.

Two days later, Light leaves the Prep Academy where he is preparing for his college entrance exam and is walking home, with Ryuk trailing behind him.

"Light, you got a moment?"

"I told you, don't talk to me outside my room. People can't hear you, Ryuk, but they can hear me."

"Yeah, I know. But I want to tell you this right now. I don't have anything against you, Light. In a way, I think you're the best person who could've used my notebook. That's because I have to stick around until the notebook's finished or you're finished. That is, dead. Well Akira actually. But I'm neither on your side nor L's side in this."

"I knew that, Ryuk."

"So I'm not going to tell you what you're doing is right or wrong. I won't say a word about that. But I will speak up once in a while as your roommate."

"What's up, Ryuk? Why're you telling me all this now? It isn't like you."

"What I meant was, what I'm about to tell you isn't spoken as Kira's ally. It's just because it's bugging me personally."

"Just get to the point, will you?"

"I'm always hovering behind you, so I noticed it right away, and it's really getting on my nerves. These last couple of days this guy's been following every step you take."

*What?*

"He doesn't see me, of course, but I feel like I'm being watched."

"Yeah, that is a pain in the butt. I'll get rid of him for you really soon, Ryuk."

*Two days… He's been seeing an ordinary college-bound senior, that's all… Or rather, a super-serious college-bound senior since I haven't hung out with Akira for these past two days…*

Light reaches his house and goes to his room. He checks the doorknob before entering. *Obviously, he hasn't entered my room.* Light sets his bag and coat on his bed and sits in his desk chair. *L realized that Kira had access to task force information known only to the task force. So now he suspects it's someone in the NPA… So my father, who heads the task force, has been put under surveillance too… He wouldn't use Japanese police to probe the NPA. So first I better find out who L is using… And it's only been a few days since the leak, yet I've already been followed for two days… and I'm only a family member… So whoever's doing it must have quite a few people on the job. Let's say they have 50 people probing the NPA… The likelihood that I'm suspected of being Kira is zero. There're too many other suspects. But if the operation goes on for months, there is a slight chance that I'll come under scrutiny… I need to find out what my shadow's name is. If I can do that, it's all under control… So what's the best way of getting his name without raising his suspicions?*

Ryuk interrupts Light's thinking and begins to tell him about the shinigami eyes.

Once Light refuses Ryuk's offer for the shinigami eyes, Light figures out how to find out the name of his shadow. "I've got it! I've just figured it out!"

"Hmm?"

"How to find out the guy's name. the one who was tailing me today. It's 5:20… Tomorrow's Saturday…" *I have plenty of time.*

"What're you going to do?"

"After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next six minutes and 40 seconds, right? First I need to test how far I can go with the 'details of the death' using the stock of criminals I kept for times like this. If the guy who was following me decides I'm innocent, I won't be investigated again for a while. The second time around, they'll be a lot more thorough. I've got to take advantage of being shadowed now. The next time, it may be too late."

Later on that day, L is informed of unusual deaths among a handful of criminals. He tells the task force to tell the media that the cause of death was heart attack and nothing else. L realizes that Kira used the criminals as guinea pigs and wonders what Kira is planning.

That night, Light does another test on a criminal with the Death Note.

**Author's note: **

**Please review**


	12. Phone Call

**Author's Note: (*) will represent thoughts, (") will represent Japanese speech, and (~) will represent English speech for the remainder of this story.**

The next morning is a Saturday, and Light gets up earlier than usual so he can act out his plan to find out his shadow's name. Meanwhile, L is trying to find out the meanings of notes left by some of the criminals Kira killed the night before.

When Light wakes up, Akira is still asleep for awhile, but wakes up feeling that something really horrible is going to happen. Out of worry, Akira calls Light, just as Light is about to call Yuri and ask her on a date.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Light, is something wrong?"

"What? No, nothing's wrong. Why?"

"Ah, okay. I just got this feeling that something was wrong…"

"Are you referring to some magical nonsense again?"

"No. Psychic stuff, remember? Anyways, do you want to hang out today?"

"Um, actually, I have a date."

"Oh?" Light can hear the curiousity in Akira's voice. "With who?"

"Uh… Yuri…"

A moment of silence passes between the two.

"Don't lie to me, Light. You're just avoiding me still. Admit it already." Light can hear the hurt in Akira's voice as he says this.

"I'm not avoiding you."

"Oh really? You haven't said a single word to me since Wednesday when I told you I'm not a virgin. Is it that big of a deal?"

"It's not that. I've just been really busy these past two days…"

Akira can tell that Light is lying to him again, but decides not to mention it. "Okay, if that's the case, how about we go to Spaceland today?"

"I really do have a date today."

"Seriously? Where?"

"Spaceland…"

Akira frowns to himself. "Really? Has the date already been decided upon or were you just gonna call Yuri right now and ask her?"

*Jeezes, how the hell did he know?* Light thinks before responding. "The second one…"

Akira smiles to himself now. "Ah, I see. How about you don't call her, and hang out with me? Hmm? After all, we never really get a chance to really hang out and have fun."

*Well, I guess my plan can still work with me going with him to Spaceland instead of Yuri…* "Fine, meet me at the bus stop in a half hour."

~Okie dokey then.~ Akira laughs and hangs up.

*Huh? What in the world did he just say?*

Akira and Light both get ready to go and leave their homes.

**Author's Note:**

**Please Review**


	13. Hijacking

Around a half hour later Light arrives at the bus stop to find that Akira is already there. "Hey, Akira, were you waiting long?"

"Nope." Akira sees, out of the corner of his eye, a man close by, trying to hide from sight, looking over at them.

Akira leans over to Light and whispers "Do you see that guy behind you? Do you think he might be following us?"

Light whispers back "Yeah, he's been following me for the past two days… I have a plan to find out who he is though."

Akira, still whispering "Really? What's the plan? Better yet, what do you plan on doing once you find out who he is?"

Light whispers back "Get rid of him, of course."

Akira doesn't respond to Light, and a minute later the bus arrives. Light and Akira get on and sit in the back of the bus, as does Light's shadow, and right before the bus leaves, the criminal Light is making use of in his plan arrives and gets on the bus as well. Light thinks: *That's him! He's here! Seven passengers, apart from him. This is going to work out perfectly.*

Shortly after the bus begins to head for Spaceland, the criminal puts a gun up to the bus driver's head. "This bus has just been hijacked, ladies and gentlemen!"

The passengers gasp and scream in fear.

"Cut the squawking! Anybody makes a sound or move of any kind, I blow their goddamn head off!"

Next the criminal has the bus driver call Spaceland and demands that a woman deliver all the money they made the day before to him at the Yuhihama bus stop, using the passengers of the bus as hostages.

The whole time all of this is going on, Akira is closing his eyes thinking. *So this is what Light's plan is huh? What an ass. It's a good thing that I came with him instead of letting him go with Yuri. She would've been scared to death. Hell, maybe she would've even had a heart attack herself…*

A moment later Akira feels Light tap on his leg and Akira opens his eyes to see the same basic note that Light would have shown Yuri, with the only real difference being the name on the paper.

Light's shadow reads the note from where he sits and whispers "Don't. It's too dangerous. Let me take care of that." Light begins writing on the piece of paper, but the shadow tells him "It's okay. We can talk if we keep our voices down. He won't hear us over the noise of the bus."

Light responds by saying "I don't mean to be rude, but you have a slight accent. You aren't Japanese, are you?"

"No, I'm American. My mother's Japanese though."

"Do you have anything that will prove to me that you aren't the hijacker's accomplice?"

Akira rolls his eyes. *Yeah, right. Like this guy's the hijacker's accomplice… I wonder what this guy's gonna do though…*

The shadow thinks to himself: *Guess I have no choice… There's no way Light Yagami is Kira… If he was, he could just give the hijacker a heart attack…* "You want proof? Here." The shadow hands his ID badge to Light.

*FBI? So L's using the FBI to probe the NPA… Name, Raye Penber.* Light hands Raye Penber his ID badge back. "Okay, I trust you. And right now I won't ask why an FBI agent is on board this bus. So you'll take care of it if something happens?"

"Yes."

Meanwhile, Akira is in deep thought after seeing Raye Penber's ID badge. *Raye Penber… Raye… Penber… Why does that name sound so familiar?... I know I've heard that name before… Who is he? How do I know him?...*

A moment later the scene of the hijacker's apparent hallucination occurs, and once the frantically terrified hijacker finally gets off the bus, he is hit by a car, and is killed.

Akira glares slightly at Light when this finishes playing out. *Really? He just had to kill someone by having them be hit by a car? Jeez he's one inconsiderate bastard. Didn't even stop to think that I might be upset by having someone die right in front of me again because of that stupid notebook… Maybe I should destroy the Death Note… Light's getting a bit too comfortable with killing people… and in such grotesque ways at that… God, he's such a moron! Doesn't he even realize that he was probably being followed under suspicion of being Kira? This is just the kind of thing that would draw more suspicion towards him!... Right?*

Akira sighs to calm himself. *No use getting angry now. If I were to start yelling at him now, I'd stop paying attention to what I was saying and probably end up getting us both arrested… Why did I have to meet him? Things would've been so much better if I hadn't decided to be friends with him. I'd be the only one using the Death Note… Actually, I probably would've destroyed the damn thing now that I think about it… But damn it! He's a complete bastard pretending to be an angel or something! Hell! He even had the nerve to remove pages from the Death Note right before it was my turn to hold on to it!...*

A moment passes and then Akira smirks. *I'll bet he doesn't even realize that I noticed there were pages missing… Thinks he's so sneaky, huh?... Well he's got another thing coming if he thinks that I'm that stupid.*

**Author's Note:**

**Please Review**


	14. Fallen Angel

After the hijacker is hit by a car, Raye Penber leaves the scene of the accident, leaving an arrogant Light with a contempt-filled Akira. Light truly had had no intention to actually go to Spaceland, even though Akira originally did. Now that Akira has become pissed off with Light, he no longer wishes to though.

Now that Akira is no longer in a cheerful mood, Akira doesn't bother to argue with Light when he suggests that they don't go to Spaceland. Instead, they leave the scene of the accident and begin to walk home, even though it is freezing cold today. It is while the two are walking to Light's house in silence that Akira finally realizes why Raye Penber's name sounds so familiar to him. He then wonders how he can convince Light to not kill Raye Penber, like Light so obviously plans to.

When Akira and Light finally reach the Yagami residence and are in Light's room, Akira begins talking once he lays on Light's bed as he usually does, while Light sits in the chair at his desk. "Light, you can't kill Raye Penber."

Light looks over at Akira with a look of annoyance on his face. "What? Why not?"

"Because he's not a bad guy."

"You don't know that. Besides, chances are that we'll be caught if I don't kill him."

"Actually, chances are that we'll be more likely to get caught if you do kill him."

"I've thought it all through, and I know I'm right."

"Traces are always left, Light."

"Well that's why I'm going to get him to kill all of the other FBI agents in Japan. So there is no trail."

Akira's eyes turn dark and he gets off of the bed to stand in front of Light and look down at him. "You are not going to kill Raye Penber or any of the other FBI agents."

Light doesn't like the fact that Akira is being so defiant towards him and stands up as well, so the two are glaring at each other at eye-level. "Yes. I. Am. End of story."

Akira's eyes turn even darker, and next thing Light knows, Akira has grabbed him tightly by his shirt. "I repeat. You. Are. Not. Going. To. Kill. Any. Of. Them."

Light narrows his eyes more. "Let go of me. Now."

Akira continues to keep a firm grasp on Light's shirt, even as Light tries to move away. "Goddamn it, Akira! Let go now!"

When Akira still does not loosen his grip, Light decides to do one thing he knows will definitely make Akira let go. He rams one of his knees up in between Akira's legs, hitting Akira's "special spot". Almost instantly, Akira lets go of Light and drops to the floor, crying with agony. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

For awhile, Akira lays crumpled on the floor, tears streaming down his face from the pain. At first he is just thinking about all the pain he is in, but as the pain lessens, he becomes angrier and angrier and angrier, until he is absolutely furious. Once Akira's anger reaches its climax, he raises himself from the ground, grabs Light by the throat, and slams Light against the wall.

Light is completely confused when this happens, and is absolutely terrified from what he sees when he looks Akira in the face. Akira's face has contorted from looking angelically beautiful like it usually appears, to looking as hideously cruel as a demon's. His eyes are as cold as Light imagines a freezing Hell would be, his mouth is like a monster's, and his face is as red as the devil himself.

All of this Light thinks of within a few seconds, for then he tries to move Akira's hand from his throat. His attempt is unsuccessful, and Akira's hands begin to tighten their grip. As Akira's hands tighten their grasp more and more, and it becomes harder and harder for Light to breathe, Light's fear starts to escalate and tears begin to fall down his face. *Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! Goddamn it! I can't die! Don't let me die! Please don't let me die! Please! Please! Please!*

As he thinks these things, Light finds himself unable to breathe at all and feels the pain of being suffocated. As the pain increases, Light's vision becomes increasingly darker, until eventually Light sees nothing and feels nothing…

When Light comes to, he finds that he is laying on his bed. *Huh? I'm alive?... I'm… alive?... I'm alive!* Tears of pure happiness fall down Light's face. *Oh thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.* Light wipes the tears off his face and looks out his window to find that the sun is setting. When he looks over towards his desk, he sees Akira sitting in his chair, staring at the floor, with watery eyes and a face stained with tears. The look on Akira's face is of complete guilt and utter self-loathing. Light speaks softly, yet somewhat croakily due to having just been suffocated to having a black-out. "Akira?"

Akira glances over at Light for a second but almost immediately looks away due to the shame he is feeling right now.

"Akira. Look at me."

Akira does so begrudgingly and immediately starts crying. "I'm sorry Light! I'm so sorry! I'm so so incredibly sorry! I don't know what came over me! I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm so so sorry!"

Any thoughts that Light had of getting revenge on Akira are washed away when Light sees the sincerity of Akira's apology from seeing the complete misery on Akira's face. "It's okay… But… why do you care so much about whether or not the FBI lives?... I don't understand."

Akira stops crying for a moment, though his eyes remain watery. "Didn't… Didn't I tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Raye Penber is my cousin's fiancé… He's… He's practically related to me. I couldn't have you kill anyone that's a part of my family… or close to my family like that either for that matter."

"I see… You could have just said that…"

"I didn't think you'd listen… You… You were so adamant about killing the FBI agents… Leaving just one alive would definitely draw suspicion to whoever he was investigating and… I didn't think you'd be willing to let any of them live if that would be the case…"

"You thought I'd kill him even with knowledge of him being a part of your family…"

"Yeah…" Akira sighs miserably.

Light looks at Akira straight in the eye and speaks quietly. "You don't trust me."

"How can I if you're doing sneaky things behind my back?"

*Damn… He knows about the tests I've been doing and the missing Death Note pages, doesn't he?* "You know what I've been up to recently, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Light. I'm not stupid."

Neither of the two speak again that day, and Akira leaves the Yagami house, feeling depressed. Light isn't feeling cheerful either, and the two both are left feeling unhappy for the rest of the day.

**Author's Note:**

**Please Review**


	15. Hotel Rooms

After Raye Penber leaves the scene of the accident, he heads for the hotel where he and Naomi Misora, his fiancé, are currently staying at, because his work is now finished for today. Their hotel room is small, but it has a pleasant atmosphere, which is why the two had decided to stay there in the first place.

When Raye enters the hotel room, he starts taking off his coat, while he sees his fiancé putting down the latest horror book she has been reading. Recently Naomi has gotten an interest in the horror genre of fiction and has a new love for Stephen King books, among various other famous horror writers.

Raye sees Naomi's face light up when she looks over at him and says "Raye, You're back." with a bright smile on her face.

He walks over to the chair that was unoccupied before and flops into it, sighing with exhaustion from having to follow people all day long for the past few days and from the incident occurring earlier that day.

"You seem drained… Did something happen?"

"I got mixed up in a bus-jacking."

"A bus-jacking?" Raye sees Naomi's eyes widen with surprise.

"Yeah. This guy who tried to rob a bank a couple of days ago decided to hijack a bus. Didn't think this kind of stuff happened in Japan."

"And were you on the bus when this happened?"

Raye can tell that the gears in Naomi's head have begun to spin. "Yeah, but the guy jumped out and ended up getting run over by a car."

"Did he die?"

*Jeez, what's with all the questions… I just want to relax already.* "Yeah, probably… I didn't stick around to make sure. Didn't want to get involved."

"Hey, Raye? Was it really a coincidence that you happened to be there? I mean, you were on that bus because you were trailing a possible suspect, right? And then a criminal dies right there?"

*Of course… She just has to think like this, doesn't she...* "Hey. Look, I know you were an excellent FBI agent, but you're here as my fiancé, and nothing else. You're not in the bureau anymore, okay? You promised me you wouldn't get involved, or do anything that would put you in danger. Those were the conditions. The only reason you're here with me is so we could meet your family."

"All right, Raye. Force of habit, I guess… I'm sorry."

Raye can see that he has just hurt Naomi's feelings, so he tries to cheer her up. "Hey… I'm sorry too. Don't take it too hard. Once we have a family, you'll be so busy you'll forget you ever were an agent. You won't have the time for that habit to pop up anymore… So how about using that brain of yours to figure out how I can make a good impression on your folks?"

Raye sees the sadness leave Naomi's face, and then she laughs a laugh that, to him, sounds like the laugh of a beautiful angel.

* * *

Around two weeks later, on New Year's Eve, the Kira task force gets the opportunity to meet L, face-to-face, for the first time.

Even though Lind L. Tailor was not killed when he was pretending to be L, and the FBI agents investigating those connected to the NPA were not killed either, the Kira task force still ends up decreasing in its size. Whereas in the original series of "Death Note" the police were afraid to go after Kira because they had the mindset of "Kira will kill anyone who goes after him", in this case, the police are afraid to go after Kira because they have the mindset of "Kira may soon possibly start to kill anyone who goes after him". It is because of this that only Soichiro Yagami and four other police officers go to meet L.

When the five members of the NPA see L for the first time, they are very surprised by L's appearance and the contrast between him and the hotel room.

L's jet-black hair is messy and appears to be uncombed, his eyes have bags under them that make it look as though he has never slept a day in his life before, and his skin looks as though it has never seen sunlight. Basically, he looks like a hobo-ish zombie to them.

The hotel room, though, is extremely elegant in appearance. The carpet is cream-colored, the plants are bright green and well-groomed, the furniture is brand-new, and anything metallic has a healthy shine to it. If it were a person, it would be an aristocrat.

Once the Kira task force members get over their initial shock, L looks at them and speaks as though he is incredibly bored. "I'm L."

When the task force members introduce themselves as "Yagami, Matsuda, Aizawa, Ukita, and Mogi", L is disgusted by their stupidity. He deals with his disgust by making an "L" shape with his right hand, pointing it at them as if it is a gun, and shouting "Bang!"

This shocks all of the task force members.

Once the task force members recover from their fright, L begins talking with disappointment dripping in his voice. "If I was Kira, you'd be dead… Yagami-san. All Kira needs to murder someone is knowledge of their name and their face. You ought to know that by now… Common sense says you can't kill anybody just by knowing their name and face. But the fact is, criminals are dropping dead one after the other on the basis of that information alone. That is how he murders people – We have no choice but to believe it. We're the only ones left who are willing to risk our lives for this. So let's be careful about telling people our names. Let's value our lives… Rather than standing around over here, how about we move over there?" L points to the sitting area within the hotel suite. "Oh, and please turn off your cell phones, laptops, and any other electronic equipment you may have, and place them on the table near the front door first. I just can't stand it when someone's cell phone rings while I'm talking."

Once they silence their cell phones and put them on the aforementioned table, L and all of the members of the task force walk into the next room and take their seats on the chairs and sofa. It is once everyone has sat down normally, (except for L that is, who is sitting with his feet on the chair and knees to his chest), that L continues talking. "Two more things. Don't write anything I say here. Just keep it in your heads. And don't call me 'L' anymore. Please always call me 'Ryuzaki' from now on. Both for safety's sake." L pours some tea and drops a couple of sugar cubes into a nearby tea cup, picks it up with his fingertips, and takes a sip of it. He scowls, adds a few more sugar cubes to his tea, and then continues drinking.

**Author's Note:**

**Please Review**


	16. Two Kiras

After sitting in silence for about a minute, while L is drinking his tea, Matsuda jumps off of the part of the sofa he has been sitting on and shouts "I just had an idea! If we know that Kira needs to know people's names and faces, then can't we tell the media to omit those from their media coverage? That could limit the number of victims!"

L's face remains expressionless as he begins to speak. "I don't think it would limit the number of victims at all… Kira would just find the names and faces of criminals on the internet, or perhaps start to kill ordinary people. Also, there is much evidence that suggests that Kira receives quite a deal of his information from the NPA somehow." L starts to drink his tea again as he sees the horrified shock on the task force members' faces. He can tell that they are surprised to hear that police information is leaking out to Kira. "You must have assumed by now that that is why FBI agents were sent to Japan in the first place, once you found out they were here…"

L sets down his cup of tea on the table and puts his thumb to his mouth. "Do you mind if I share my thoughts on this case with you?"

Everyone shakes their heads.

"Kira is one person, perhaps two, and has access to task force information. He needs knowledge of his victim's name and face to commit murder. And he can control the time of death, as well as the victim's actions before death, to a certain extent… Now please keep those points in mind and listen carefully to what I say next."

L begins to write on the wooden coffee table in front of him with a permanent black marker. "On November 28th, a criminal named Kurou Otoharada died from a heart attack. All evidence suggests that this was Kira's first victim – The first person he tested his powers on. Also, since this criminal died while holding hostages that day, and this case was only reported in Japan, it can be deduced that Kira is in Japan… On December 5th, I had a death-row inmate named Lind L. Tailor appear on television in Japan, pretending to be me, and Kira's killing pattern remained the same – He didn't kill the person who claimed to be L, who antagonized him, and who threatened him with the death penalty if he ever were to catch him… Perhaps this can be taken to mean that Kira only kills criminals, but perhaps not. Between these two dates is when Kira began to kill a large number of criminals with heart attacks. Surprisingly though, the week after Lind L. Tailor appeared on television in Japan, pretending to be me, the number of criminals dying increased slightly, yet at the same time the number of criminals dying from heart attacks decreased drastically. This suggests that Kira can control how a person he kills dies… A few days after Lind L. Tailor appeared on television in Japan, I was informed that he died. This can either mean that Kira realized that I was testing him with the announcement on television and waited until he found out all he could about Lind L. Tailor before making a move, or he was from a country other than Japan… I believe it is the prior, and that he somehow was able to find out the truth about Lind L. Tailor before killing him… The strange thing though is that he didn't die of a heart attack, just like the majority of the other criminals he killed during that week. Even more strange is that the cause of death of these criminals is unknown. When Kira kills with heart attacks, we at least know what causes their death, even though we don't know what causes the heart attacks. When Kira doesn't kill with heart attacks though, there is absolutely nothing that tells what causes their deaths – It is as if a switch is just turned off inside of them…" L looks around at the task force members and waits a minute before continuing so the information can sink into their brains.

L plucks a sugar cube out of its container, puts it in his mouth, and continues speaking once it has dissolved. "On December 14th, 12 FBI agents enter Japan… On December 19, Kira uses imprisoned criminals to carry out what are clearly tests of his ability to control victims' actions before they die. In other words, within just five days, Kira became aware of the FBI's presence. He felt threatened, and in order to eliminate all the agents in Japan – whose number, and faces he couldn't have known – he used criminals to test how far he could control his victims' actions… This though, is just a theory. It has been two weeks since the FBI entered Japan, and they are still alive. At the moment, the only conclusion that I can draw is that there must be two Kiras…"

The task force is shocked once more. "You can't be serious! Two Kiras! Isn't just one bad enough as it is?"

L's composure remains intact and he repeats the statement. "I believe that it is very likely that there are two Kiras."

"And just how sure are you about this?"

"About… 95.2% sure…"

The task force members don't question him any further, but L can tell that they are still confused as to how he came to the conclusion of there being two Kiras. "There is much evidence that suggests the possibility of there being two people that have Kira's powers, and that they are connected. Not necessarily are they working together, but I'm 98.7% sure that they are. You see, the first week that Kira began to kill criminals, he killed them all with heart attacks. After Lind L. Tailor appeared on the news though, more criminals were killed, but less died from heart attacks. This suggests that, during this time, Kira met another person that had his power to kill. It is also possible that they knew each other before then and Kira decided to share his powers with someone so he wouldn't have to be the one killing all the time… Oh, and if you look at the chart sitting on the table, you will see that Kira's killing spree has a certain pattern to it. And I don't mean the pattern that suggests that Kira is a student. We already know he can control the time of death of a person. What I am referring to is the fact that on one week all of his victims die from heart attacks, whereas on the next, the majority of his victims have no identifiable cause of death, though a few still die from heart attacks. You will notice that this pattern repeats itself over and over. Every two weeks the pattern restarts… It is this, especially, that makes me believe that Kira is actually two people, who take turns killing people."

L grabs a strawberry off of a cake sitting on the table and eats it before continuing. "It is very likely that one of these Kiras kills during both weeks – The Kira that I believe is the mastermind behind their killing spree. And it is very likely that the other Kira only kills on the week he has been assigned to kill on. To make things simplest, we'll refer to them as Kira 1 and Kira 2 from here on… Kira 1 kills with heart attacks on both weeks, though he significantly decreases his killing rate when Kira 2 is doing the killings. Kira 2 kills only on his given week and kills criminals with a cause of death that is currently unknown… It is almost immediately known when Kira 1 commits a murder, because guards and other prisoners can hear the victims screaming with agony as they die. It remains unknown for a while though when Kira 2 commits a murder, because the victims apparently do not die painful deaths… What this can tell us about the two Kiras is that Kira 1 is the more cruel, less caring, more arrogant, and less remorseful of the two Kiras, whereas Kira 2 is the less cruel, more caring, less arrogant, and more remorseful of the two Kiras. Based off of how the two Kiras kill, it is highly likely that Kira 1 is the one that uses criminals to test his powers on, rather than Kira 2. Kira 2 is basically the 'better' of the two, for lack of a better word, and probably finds the idea of using people as test subjects to be awful, if he even knows that Kira 1 is using people as test subjects at all. I believe that Kira 1 is arrogant, simply because it is obvious that Kira can kill by means other than just 'heart attack', yet he chooses to kill in a way that makes it obvious of when he has just killed someone. The way Kira 2 kills shows that he feels upset, to a degree, about killing his victims, and is not arrogant because he doesn't make a big show of when he is killing someone… Based on the assumption that Kira 1 is as arrogant as I believe him to be, it is quite likely that Kira 1 would want to eliminate those that are coming after him. This idea is reinforced from Kira 1 having used criminals as his guinea pigs a few days shortly after the FBI entered Japan…"

"But how is it that the FBI agents are still alive though, if that's the case?"

"That's one of the reasons why I believe there is a second Kira. Because Kira 1 is as arrogant as he is, and it is obvious that Kira 1 wanted to kill the FBI agents, there has to be something, or rather, someone, that prevents him from doing so. I believe that this 'someone' is Kira 2, and that Kira 2 is preventing Kira 1 from killing the FBI agents and had prevented Kira 1 from killing Lind L. Tailor when he was playing the role of 'L'… I base this on the probability of Kira 1 being close to Kira 2…"

"So Kira 2 is on our side?"

"In a sense, yes, but also no. Kira 2 is working with Kira 1 on some agenda of their own, yet he is preventing ordinary people and innocent people from being killed… Basically Kira 1 is like a regular serial killer, just with the ability to kill people without coming into contact with them, whereas Kira 2 is a little more of an unusual type of serial killer. The way Kira 2 commits his murders, and the fact that he only kills major criminals and prevents the deaths of innocent people, suggests that Kira 2 is pure to some degree. To the investigator that searches for a serial killer, it is easier to find Kira 1 than Kira 2, though Kira 2 is the more likely to confess their crimes before they are found. If Kira 2 never confesses their crimes, yet Kira 1 is caught, there is a 50% chance that Kira 1 will try to bring Kira 2 down with him, though, at the same time, there is a 50% chance that even if Kira 1 is caught, that he will never reveal who Kira 2 is, simply because that would mean that he would be confessing his crimes… It is possible that we may only end up catching Kira 1, even though it would be best to catch Kira 2 as well… At the moment, while we are trying to catch both Kiras, the top priority is to catch Kira 1. If Kira 1 really is the mastermind behind the Kira killings, then Kira 2 may discontinue the killings once Kira 1 is out of the picture. And, if we catch Kira 1, we may not have to search too long before Kira 2 turns himself in… depending on how close the two Kiras are…"

"What kind of relationship do you think the two Kiras have?"

"Well, they could be relatives, friends, or lovers. If they are relatives, they are most likely to be siblings around the same age, with Kira 1 probably being the older sibling… If they are friends or lovers, Kira 1 is the dominant personality within the relationship. Chances are that Kira 2 is more submissive, shy, or easygoing…"

Matsuda pipes in. "Wait a minute! Are you saying the two Kiras are gay?"

L blinks. "No. I never said that. While I refer to the two Kiras as both being male, and possibly lovers, they are not necessarily so. Statistics show that it is incredibly rare for females to be serial killers, so I assume they're both male, and two people that are lovers tend to be very close, so I assume they could be lovers… The two Kiras could just be very close friends though… Plus, there's about a 50% chance that Kira 2 is female, based off of who and how he kills, and the personality he is likely to have… Kira 1 is definitely male though…"

"Wow, with this much information, we'll catch Kira in no time!" A bright smile is on Matsuda's face.

Aizawa hits him on the top of the head. "No need to get all excited."

This causes Matsuda to frown.

"Well that is all for today. Make sure you don't reveal anything you've heard in this room once you're outside." L points to the door, the NPA members go and grab their belongings off of the table next to the door and leave.

**Author's Note:**

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	17. Cameras

Two days later, L interrogates the members of the task force to make sure that none of them are Kira, even though he doubts that any of them could be Kira. When he comes to the conclusion that none of the task force members are Kira, he allows them to see Watari for the first time, with Watari not being in disguise. Afterwards, Watari passes out fake IDs to the task force members, because L had requested them so it would be more difficult for the task force members to be killed by Kira. He also gives them belts that have embedded transmitters inside the buckle, and tells them that if they push the buckle two times forcefully, that his phone will ring to let him and L know that something is wrong.

It is after this that L tells the task force that someone should be at NPA's task force office at all times.

Three days after this, L tells the task force that he believes that Kira is very likely a person that was investigated by the FBI sometime between the 14th and the 19th of December since that is when Kira became aware of the FBI's presence in Japan. He also tells them how the FBI has informed him that they are discontinuing their probe of the NPA, so now the task force members no longer need to worry about being suspected of being Kira. One thing he does tell them, that upsets the task force members, is that he believes that Kira may be either a member of the Yagami or Kitamura family. He tells them that they will narrow down the investigation to these families because he recently was informed that some unusual deaths occurred around Raye Penber - the FBI agent who was investigating these two families – even though he reported that there were 'no grounds for suspicion' for any of them. (Naomi Misora had convinced her fiancé that the death of the criminal near him may have been the work of Kira and was worth mentioning to his boss).

Three days later, L has hidden cameras and microphones be placed in the Yagami and Kitamura households for a week. As a courtesy to Soichiro Yagami, only L and he will observe the Yagami family, with the rest of the task force observing the Kitamura family.

The cameras and microphones are placed before Light comes home from school…

When Light and Akira reach the Yagami residence when walking home that day, Akira gets a feeling that something is wrong, and once they enter the house, the feeling gets even worse.

Akira shivers as the two walk up the stairs. "Hey, Light, I'm getting the feeling that something's wrong again."

Light rolls his eyes as he begins walking down the hallway to his room. "Let me guess. It's that psychic crap again, huh?"

Akira frowns slightly. "It's not crap. I'm serious."

"Uh-huh, sure." Light walks over to the door of his room and checks the doorknob. *Akira's right… Something is up…* When he enters his room he begins wondering what he should do about this. Light then sets his school bag on the floor next to his desk and sits in his chair while Akira places his school bag next to the bed and lays on the bed, as they usually do.

After a moment of silence, Akira makes a pouting face at Light and begins to whine slightly. "Light, I'm bored. Let's go do something interesting."

Light frowns. *God, he's so gay.* "I thought you were feeling paranoid. How can you possibly be bored at the same time?"

A thoughtful expression appears on Akira's face before he answers bluntly. "Dunno, but I am."

Light scowls. "If you're feeling that bored, why don't you just call that friend of yours?"

Akira has no idea what Light is talking about, and this is apparent on his face. "Friend? What friend?"

"That friend of yours in America that you told me about some time ago."

Akira understands now. "Oh, you mean my ex? He's not my friend."

Now Light is the one that is confused. "Ex? What do you mean by ex? I thought you two were dating."

Akira chuckles. "I dumped him like a couple months ago. By the time I came to Japan, he already had started dating my cousin."

"Cousin? Just how many cousins do you have?"

Akira chuckles once more. "A lot."

"Hmm… I guess that must run in the family for you…"

Akira turns his head to the side, like L commonly does. "What do you mean by that?"

"That whole gay thing."

"Oh. Okay, now I think you are confused about something. My cousin is a girl."

Light raises an eyebrow. "How is that possible if the guy's gay?"

Akira smiles. "He wasn't actually gay, that's how. He was bi. He just told me he was gay because he thought that I'd think he was lying if he told me he was bi… I blame the stupid stereotype that people have in their brains. In today's society, if you're a bi girl, then everyone thinks you're a straight girl that's just looking for attention, and if you're a bi guy, then everyone thinks you're a gay guy that doesn't want to fully come out of the closet."

"Isn't that usually the case?"

Akira shrugs. "Usually, but not always. There are actual bisexual people out there. It's just that there's very few people that are truly bisexual. Most people that claim to be bisexual actually aren't… My ex is one of the few people that are truly bisexual… It's kind of funny, but that's kind of what led to us breaking up. I know he never cheated on me with a girl or anything like that, but I knew he was interested in my cousin, Vera, who was the prettiest girl at my school. Many would say that she was hot, so I didn't blame him for being attracted to her. It's just that it got on my nerves when I knew he was checking her out all the time and I knew it, yet he would never answer me truthfully when I asked him if he liked her… It was all of his dishonesty that made me dump him, not his being bi. I hate liars, and I can only take so much lying before I just say 'screw it' and am done."

Light laughs a little from Akira's little speech and the annoyed look on Akira's face as he says all of this. "Wow. You must hate everyone then, huh?"

Akira narrows his eyes. "No. Like I said before. I can handle a certain amount of lying, just not a ridiculous amount of it." Akira then sighs to calm himself. "Anyways, it's a good think I got rid of the guy, because he and my cousin are quite a happy couple now. They suite each other more than we did and they have more in common. It wasn't just the dishonesty that made me start to not like him. It was also the fact that it started becoming apparent to me that he and I didn't have much in common… That's also the reason why he and I can't be friends. Because we don't have much in common…"

"Ah, okay. I see. You really don't have friends, huh?"

Akira frowns for a moment and then a large grin spreads across his face. "I've got you for a friend, and that's good enough for me right now."

The whole time Light and Akira are talking, L and Soichiro are watching them on the screens in the hotel room where they are working on the case. The room L and Soichiro are in is dark (because L likes being in the dark) and L is sitting in his chair in the weird way he does, with his thumb to his mouth, concentrating on the two boys. "So, Yagami-san, who is this boy?" L points to Akira on one of the screens.

"That's one of Light's friends."

"I see… How long have they been friends?"

"Since… about the end of November. He transferred into Light's class then."

The gears have begun spinning in L's head. "And how close are they?"

"Well, I assume they're pretty good friends, seeing as how Light doesn't usually bring friends over to the house…"

"I see…" L looks over at Soichiro, who has a worried expression on his face. "What's the matter, Yagami-san?"

"Uh, well, I'm just a little surprised. That's all."

L turns his head to the side in that way he commonly does. "Surprised by what?"

"I didn't know his friend was gay…"

"Ah, are you afraid that Light might be gay? I don't think you need to worry about that. The chances of him being homosexual are practically zero percent."

L sees Soichiro's face relax once he says this. Meanwhile, L is thinking *It is quite possible that Light Yagami is actually gay, but at the moment nothing seems to really suggest that… It is interesting how the only friend he appears to have is a homosexual male though… And the fact that they met around the time the Kira killings began is suspicious…*

It is sometime later that Akira leaves the Yagami residence. It is once Akira leaves that Light does everything he would have done with Akira not being there, including having Ryuk find all of the cameras in his room, Light leaving the house to talk to Ryuk and buy a 'girly' (porn like) magazine, and Light killing minor criminals that he sees on his miniature television. L and Soichiro's reactions and conversations that day remain the same for the rest of the day as well. The only difference is that it is Akira's week to kill criminals.

Once the day is over, L notices that the amount of deaths caused by Kira 2 have stayed the same though the deaths caused by Kira 1 have decreased somewhat. (Light had been sure to schedule deaths of criminals weeks in advance just as a precaution). To L it is now more likely that Light could be Kira 1 and Akira could be Kira 2.

**Author's Note:**

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	18. Bet

One thing that people may be surprised to learn about L is that even though he seems like he doesn't really have emotions, he does. Of course. This also means that he can be a pervert. Which he is. If he wasn't, he couldn't calmly watch people with cameras all the time.

As this is the case, it should come as no surprise that, while L had the cameras in the Yagami house, he sometimes used the cameras for purposes other than investigating. Whenever he wasn't watching Light (who has become his prime suspect) he was watching Sayu. Whenever she changed or took a shower, he always looked. Well, as this is exactly the kind of thing that Soichiro was afraid of when he agreed for the cameras to be placed in his home, it is not surprising that he eventually started getting suspicious of L's interest in his daughter, who is in middle school by the way.

It was because L realized that Soichiro suspected him of using the cameras for perverted reasons that L decided to remove the cameras and microphones from the Yagami and Kitamura houses a little earlier than planned. He just told the task force that there was no suspicious activity observed in the two families, which was technically true, though it wasn't his actual reason for removing the cameras early.

Overall, the cameras were in place for five days.

Once the cameras are removed, Akira comes over to the Yagami house again, to hang out with Light. Light is sitting in his chair as usual and Akira lays on the bed as usual.

Lately whenever Akira comes over to Light's house, they don't have much of an opportunity to talk because Light is studying a ridiculous amount for the upcoming college entrance exams. It is on this day though, that Akira decides to mention how boring that is to him. Akira begins whining like a child "Light, I'm bored." and pouts slightly.

Light sighs with annoyance. "Look, Akira, if you're bored, you're just going to have to find something to do to entertain yourself… Anyway, shouldn't you be studying for the exams too?"

An impish smile appears on Akira's face. "Nope. I know all that I need to for the tests… How about we make a bet or something?"

Light raises an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"

Akira's grin grows larger. "The person who does the best on their entrance exam gets to make the one who does worse do one thing that they decide. It can't be anything extreme though, like trading for the shinigami eyes or killing someone or anything like that."

"And what if we get the same exact score? Hm?"

"Then I win."

Light scowls. "How the hell do you figure that? If we tie, then you don't win."

Akira shakes his head. "That's where you're wrong, Light. Because if you get the same score as me even though you're studying until the day the exams start, and I'm not studying anymore, then that means I'm smarter than you."

*Hmm… He does have a point there…*

"Plus, Light, I bet it won't even take me as long as you to complete the tests."

Light frowns. "Fine. If we get the same score, you win, and I'll do one thing of your choosing."

"Great! I already know exactly what I'm gonna have you do… You don't have to worry though, it won't be anything really extreme or anything. It'll be quite simple actually." Akira giggles.

Light is a little worried though. "What is it that you are planning to make me do?"

Akira laughs mischievously. "I'm not gonna tell you. If I did that, there'd be no fun in it… If you win though, what are you gonna have me do?"

*Probably force you to play a game of 20 questions or something since you're so secretive about your past…* "I'm not telling, either."

Light then returns to studying, and Akira continues talking. "Light, why did Ryuk stay here a few days ago when he was supposed to stay with me?"

"Huh? Oh, that's because I figured there were cameras and microphones in here and Ryuk thought it'd be interesting to see what I did with cameras watching me."

Akira's mouth is agape for a moment. "You must be joking. There were cameras in here? I knew something was wrong. I just knew it… No wonder Ryuk came back to me though every once in awhile during these past few days, even though he stayed with you… You weren't giving him apples, huh? You do realize that you should give the thing that could kill you easily at any moment what he wants, right?"

"It's not like I really had a choice. If I had given him apples, then L would've realized that I was Kira."

"I see…"

Light goes back to working and an idea pops in Akira's head. "Hey, Kira?"

Light turns around. "What?"

Akira now has a large frown on his face. "You fell for it. If I was L, you'd be getting arrested right now. And you can't even use the excuse that your name sounds kind of like "Kira", as mine does.

Light snaps back "I won't fall for it again!"

Shortly after this, Akira leaves Light's house to write a letter to a girl he knows will cause problems for him and Light if left to her own devices.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	19. Prize

A week later it is time for the college entrance exams to begin, and once Light reaches the university testing center, he sees a very strange-looking person there. The strange-looking person turns around and waves at Light, and Light sees that it is Akira.

Light walks up to Akira. "Hey, why'd you dye your hair?"

Akira smiles. "I was bored. I was thinking of dying my hair pink at first, but then I thought 'Nah man, that's too gay.' and so I decided to dye my hair blue instead."

"I see… I actually think your natural hair color looks better on you…"

Akira blinks. "Really? I always thought that dark brown was a pretty boring hair color."

"Well, it isn't on you, in the least… Anyways, the test is going to start soon, so we may as well go inside."

~Okie dokey then.~

"Akira, what the hell did you just say?"

"Huh? Oh, I just said 'okay then'. One way English speakers say 'okay' is by saying 'okie dokey'. It's an American thing that I like to say."

"I see…"

The entrance exams begin shortly after Light and Akira have entered the large testing room and have found their seats, which are on opposite sides of the room.

Shortly after the test starts, the testing proctor walks pass Light and says "You there… Number 162. Sit properly."

Light turns around and sees a wild looking person sitting behind him, staring at him while sitting very strangely. This wild looking person is L, though Light doesn't know it yet.

After a while, the testing proctor gives up on trying to get L to sit normally, and goes back to the front of the room. After half of the time for taking the entrance exams is over for that day, Light sees the testing proctor walk over to the other side of the room and say "You there… Number 13. Wake up. You are not supposed to be sleeping. Finish your test."

Akira, who is Number 13, lifts his head from the table and begins whining. "But I already finished my test, and there's nothing for me to do. If I was allowed to bring something to read, I'd read, but since I wasn't, I'm gonna sleep."

Akira and the proctor argue for a little while before the proctor gives up on getting Akira to not sleep during the test.

For the remaining days of the exams, the proctor doesn't bother to say anything to L for sitting weird or to Akira for sleeping once he finishes his test for the day.

About a month later, Akira gets a letter in the mail, telling him that he has been accepted into To-Oh University and that he will be the freshman class representative. Akira runs to the Yagami house to tell Light the news, and to receive his prize for winning their bet. When he reaches the Yagami residence and Light lets him inside, Akira begins bragging about how awesome he is, while waving the letter around in the air. Once the two are in Light's room though, Light shows Akira that he also received the same letter.

Akira takes another look at the letter and sees that it says that he will be giving the freshman address along with two other people. "I guess you're one of the two people, Light. I wonder who the other person is though…"

Light shrugs and spins his chair around. "Don't know. Don't care."

Akira has a mischievous grin appear on his face. "Hey, Light. Do you remember that bet we made before the entrance exams?"

Light frowns slightly. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, remember how I said if we tied for our scores that means I win?"

"Yeah… Why?"

"Well, remember how I said the winner gets to make the loser do one thing of the winner's choosing, so long as it isn't extreme?"

"Yeah?" *I'm getting a bad feeling about this…*

The grin on Akira's face grows larger. "Well, I've already decided what I want you to do." Then he giggles impishly.

*I'm getting a really bad feeling about this…* Light asks hesitantly "Just what is it that you want me to do?"

Akira's smile gets smaller and more sheepish-looking, and his face turns a light shade of pink. He then looks at the ground for a moment, takes a deep breath, and then says, while staring Light in the eyes, "I want you to kiss me."

"What?" Light shouts as he falls out of his chair from shock and his face turns bright red.

Meanwhile Ryuk is just laughing as if this is the most hysterical thing he has ever heard before. *Human's are a riot!*

Light gets up from the ground and sits back in his chair, scowling. "I. Am. Not. Going. To. Kiss. You."

Akira pouts a little before saying "Then I guess that I'll just have to kiss you."

Before Light has a chance to respond, Akira walks closer to Light, lifts his chin up with one of his hands, bends down, and kisses Light on the lips.

After a few moments, Akira steps away and says "Well, I'll be leaving now. I have some things to attend to."

When Akira leaves, Light is just left sitting in his chair, confused and blinking. *What the hell just happened? Does Akira like me like that? Even though he's gay, I always thought he just liked me as a friend. Was I wrong?... Perhaps he has some other reason for kissing me… What could be the reason though?*

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	20. Misa Amane

"Dear Miss Misa Amane, I am Kira. I have come into knowledge recently that you are interested in meeting me. It would be my pleasure to meet you. I know how you planned on getting my attention by sending videos to television stations, but that is unnecessary and does not help my cause; in fact, it would hinder it. Just in case this letter ends up in the wrong hands though, you will not be able to meet me directly at first; you will meet one of my followers instead. The follower you will meet is named Akira Yume, and when you meet him for the first time his hair will be dyed blue, just to make it simple for you to find him. Since I know you have the eyes, when you see him, you will be able to recognize that what I say is true about him working for me. To prove to you that I am, in fact, Kira, attached to this letter is a list of people that will die on what day at what time, with their pictures beside their names. If you try to find out what caused their deaths, you will be unsuccessful, because I have not sentenced them to death by cardiac arrest, or anything else that is a common cause of death. I will have you meet my follower on February 28th at 3 in the afternoon in Aoyama at the café near the Note Blue. Sincerely, Kira."

"Oh wow, Rem. This is great! Kira already knows about me and can't wait to meet me!" Misa hugs the letter to her chest.

Misa and Rem are in Misa's apartment, which is decorated entirely with gothic décor. Practically everything in her apartment is colored black or white.

Right now Misa is sitting on her bed looking through her mail.

"Misa, you do realize you won't be meeting Kira directly yet, right?"

Misa giggles. "Yeah, Rem, but this is one step closer to being able to meet him. Anyways, it is always possible that this 'Akira Yume' guy is actually 'Kira' and is just being careful. You never know what kind of person goes through your mail after all."

Three weeks after receiving the letter in the mail, which is also the same day that Light and Akira kiss for the first time, Misa and Rem go to the café that is closest to the Note Blue. Misa sees Akira sitting at a table by himself near the window of the café. *Huh? That's weird… I can't see his lifespan… Oh! He must be Kira!*

Misa then runs over to where Akira is sitting. "Hi! I'm Misa! It's nice to finally meet you!"

Akira just smiles calmly in response. "Hello Misa. It's nice to meet you too." He then looks around the room and sees people staring over in their direction. "Misa, I think it would be best if you sat down and lowered your voice. People are starting to stare, and I don't think that that's such a good thing."

Misa rubs her head in embarrassment as she sits down in the chair opposite Akira. "Sorry. I'm just so excited, that's all."

"It's alright." Akira takes a sip of his coffee drink.

"So, um, why did you want to meet me?" When Akira just looks at her, she continues "I mean, I know you know I wanted to meet you but, um, is there any reason you wanted to meet me?"

"Well, yes, actually. Um…" Akira sighs. "Jeez, now I have no idea what to say…Hmm…"

"Well I just wanted to meet you so that I could thank you for what you did. You know, about getting rid of the guy that killed my parents. Other than that though, I just wanted to see what 'you know who' is like…"

Akira sighs again. "I'm really sorry, Misa. It's just that I really have no idea what to say…"

"How old are you Akira?"

"18. Why?"

"I'm 20."

"Okay… How is that important?"

"Well, I basically decided a while ago that I'd date whoever happened to be 'you know who' so long as they weren't hideous, or a lot older or younger than me…"

Akira frowns. "I already know you don't want to date me, so why are you trying to force yourself to be my girlfriend?"

"But-"

"No buts, okay? And anyways, I can't date you."

Misa is upset by this and Akira can see this. "Do… Do you already have a girlfriend?"

"No."

Misa slams her hands on the table. "Then why can't you date me?"

"Because I'm gay, Misa. I don't like women; I like men. Okay? And it doesn't matter if you're the most attractive woman on the planet, I'm never going to end up being attracted to you. That's all there is to it."

Misa then begins to cry. "B-But y-you can't be!"

Akira frowns and sighs again. "That's just how it is."

Now Misa is angry and decides to challenge Akira. "Prove it."

Just at that moment, Akira is drinking his coffee drink and nearly chokes when she says this. "What? How the hell do you expect me to prove it?"

"Kiss a guy."

Akira narrows his eyes. "I am not going to just go and kiss some random guy. No thank you."

Misa's voice turns dark. "Then I'll write your name in my Death Note."

"That's not fair at all. You're lucky I even decided to meet you when I never had to in the first place. And now you have the nerve to threaten me when I'm doing you a favor?"

Misa sighs. *He's right… I am being rude… But, why is it that he has to be gay? Now what am I supposed to do?*

"Misa, if you really want a boyfriend that badly, I know someone you might like. He's single, smart, attractive, definitely straight, and has no clue about the Death Note at all."

"Why would I want someone that doesn't have anything to do with the Death Note?"

"Because, in a sense, you can feel like you have the upper-hand in the relationship… Anyways, do you find me attractive? I'm guessing you do since you said you want to be my girlfriend."

"Uh, yeah. You're a pretty boy. Of course I think you're good-looking."

Akira smiles. "Perfect, because the guy I think I could probably set you up with is my older brother. He's a 21 year old photographer; he basically looks just like me, though a little more masculine looking; and you seem like his type of woman."

"Well… I guess I could try one date with him and see how it goes…"

"Great. I'll see what day is a good day for him and tell you."

"Akira?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Why are you setting me up with your brother when I could easily kill him without leaving any evidence tying me to his death?"

"Because I already know you won't kill him. I have a sense for these kinds of things. Plus, if you did happen to kill him, then I'd be forced to kill you."

Rem then decides to speak. "Then I'll kill you."

Misa looks at Rem. "Rem, he can't see or hear you yet, you know?"

"Rem, huh? So that's the name of your shinigami? Mine's Ryuk." Akira then touches Misa with a piece of paper from his Death Note so that she can see Ryuk. Misa then does the same to Akira.

Rem then repeats what she said before. "If you kill Misa, then I'll kill you."

Akira sighs with annoyance. "I'll only kill her if she kills my brother, which I know she won't. I already know that they are good for each other. Hell, how do you think I knew about Misa in the first place, hmm? I'm psychic. Of course I can tell if two people are good together. I also can tell when something is wrong, though not necessarily what is wrong, and I can tell when I'm being lied to, though I can't always tell what the truth is. I just happen to know things. It's as simple as that."

Misa speaks quietly "I really hope you're right."

"I know I'm right, Misa. You don't have anything to worry about. Oh, and if you want to help me out, then just follow my orders, okay? And at the moment, I want you to not do anything with your Death Note, as that would be highly unnecessary, okay? Oh, and I would really like to be friends with you since I get the vibe that you're going to end up being my sister-in-law, as long as you don't have a problem with that."

"Okay… Akira, are you really psychic?"

"To a degree, yes."

"It's said that those who have Death Notes experience lives filled with misfortune. Are you trying to prove that wrong or something?"

Akira smiles once more. "Not really, but I do want to live a good life and have everyone around me live good lives as well."

"What exactly are your plans with the Death Note?"

"To make the world a better place. Simply just that, though I know someone who wants to use the Death Note to take over the world and become 'God'… What a fool he is." Akira shakes his head.

"I see… So you don't really need me?"

"I never said that. Just at the moment I don't need you to do anything. Just enjoy life right now, okay? And then sometime in the future when I need your help, I'll ask you for your help."

"Do you know how to kill a shinigami?"

"Make them fall in love with a human and have them kill someone in order to lengthen the human's lifespan."

Misa's eyes widen. "How do you know that?"

Akira taps his head and smiles. "Psychic. You see, I can sometimes know information before I'm told it, and I even know a person's name when I see them. I don't know how I always know people's names, seeing as how I don't have the shinigami eyes, but oh well." Akira shrugs.

"Wow. Those abilities must come in pretty useful."

Akira nods. "They do. Especially in regards to this one friend of mine who is very deceitful and is a habitual liar."

"Why would you be friends with someone like that?"

"Because I know he's not going to be that way forever. I know most people don't change, but I already know that something, though I don't know what, is going to happen and will cause his personality to change."

"I see… Do you love him?"

Akira's face turns slightly pink. "Uh, yeah. I think so."

Misa then smiles. "That's the real reason you won't date me even though I threatened your life. Because you're already in love with someone."

Akira laughs. "I guess you're right, but this is for the best. Trust me, you're going to like my brother."

After this, Akira and Misa exchange phone numbers and leave the café.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	21. Ceremony

About a month later the To-Oh entrance ceremony occurs, and Akira, Light, and L all are the freshman representatives for their class, and they all give the freshman address.

Everyone in the audience is shocked when they hear that, not one, not two, but three people scored 100% in every subject and are the freshman representatives. They are even more surprised that L, who is going by the name Hideki Ryuga so no one knows of his true identity, is one of these representatives since he looks so freaky to them. And the fact that Akira slept throughout half of the testing makes the incoming freshmen even more awed that he is one of the freshman representatives. (The blue hair he had before is gone and his hair is now back to being a dark brown, almost black, color). The only one no one is surprised is one of the freshman representatives is Light, since he appears like the type of guy that could do that well on the exams.

Once the three young men give the freshman address, L tells Light quietly that he is L, just as Akira walks down the stairs after them and chuckles. *L Lawliet. You're really going to tell Light that you're L? Wow. All Light needs to kill you now is your last name… and he's never going to get that I'll bet. Smart move in using your real name as your alias. No one would ever think of that.*

When Akira, Light, and L all sit down in their seats, they are all thinking. Light is thinking about whether or not 'Hideki Ryuga' is actually L, and is wondering what Akira finds so funny about the guy saying that he is L. L is wondering what Akira was thinking about when he walked passed them and laughed, and whether or not Light is Kira 1 and Akira is Kira 2. Akira is the only one who isn't concerned about anything because he knows Light and he are Kira, knows that L doesn't know whether or not he and Light are Kira, and he knows L's real name while Light doesn't.

Once the ceremony is over, L leaves in a limo and Light and Akira take the subway train home (since they live around the same area as each other). When Light and Akira enter the Yagami house, Sayu greets them, and Light ignores her and continues heading to his room. Akira follows after Light after greeting Sayu and shrugging to show Sayu that he has no idea what is up with Light.

When the two are in Light's room, Light goes into an angry fit and starts yelling and such because L won this round in their little competition to defeat each other. After his angry fit is over though, when Ryuk is somewhat afraid of Light, then Light talks about how he intends on getting close to L so that he can kill him.

Meanwhile though, Akira just is laying on Light's bed, looking very bored, thinking to himself: *Light's gone insane… When the hell is his personality gonna change already?*

Once Light has returned to being saner, he looks over at Akira and scowls. "Why the hell were you laughing when L told me he's L? And why don't you seem to give a damn about it at all?"

Akira sighs. "Because, Light, that guy is L, and neither of you is going to really beat the other in this weird little competition you two sort of have going on."

"What?"

"Yeah, for one thing, he's never gonna find any evidence of you actually being Kira, nor me being Kira, and you will never find out his real name. It's as simple as that. That's what's so funny to me."

*Does he know? He must know.* "Akira, I need you to be honest with me. Do you know L's real name? If so, how? Do you two know each other or something?"

"Yes I know L's real name, though I'm not gonna tell you what it is… I know his name because I always know a person's name when I see them… I don't have the shinigami eyes though. It would be a waste of my life to get the shinigami eyes… I'm just psychic, though you never seem to accept this as truth… Oh, and I don't know L on a personal basis or anything. I'll bet he was just as confused as you when I laughed at you two."

"So why won't you tell me his name?"

Akira replies bluntly "Because I know you will kill him. That's why."

"But he's against us. Why don't you want him dead?"

"Because he's not a bad guy. Oh, and I've decided to be more like Ryuk and be neutral in this whole Kira verses L thing. I'm not going to help either of you out. I'm just going to be the referee that prevents either side from winning or losing though."

Lights scowls. "Great! That's just f****** fantastic!"

Akira smirks at this. "What'd you expect? That I'd be on your side? I don't think so. You want to take over the world and become a tyrannical god, like some sort of maniac, and I have no interest in that plan going into effect. At the same time though, I'm your friend and don't want to see you get locked up in prison and very likely executed. As a result, I'll prevent either side from winning… Oh, and don't even think of killing me, because I've informed a special person to kill you if I die."

"What?" Light shouts.

Akira smiles at Light. "Oh, I didn't tell you? I met this girl awhile ago who happens to own a Death Note of her very own. She and I are pretty close now, actually. In fact, I've even hooked her up with my older brother, who she is quite fond of now."

"Why would you let someone with a Death Note date a family member of yours? I thought you wanted your family members to live."

"I'm psychic. Remember?" Akira sighs with annoyance. "And anyway, she's not going to end up killing my brother because they're a perfect match. I have a sense for these things… Besides, I don't have a problem with Death Note users dating my family members, so long as they don't kill them, or get themselves arrested or something because of having a Death Note."

"Right…"

"Oh, and you do know, Light, that that whole 'no dating people with Death Notes' thing doesn't apply to me, right?"

"What?" Light has calmed down by now, though now he is confused.

An impish smile spreads itself across Akira's face and he gets off the bed, walks over to Light, and gives Light a light peck on the cheek. "I'll make you mine someday. I'm sure of it."

Light scowls. "I'm not gay, and even if I was, I would never be interested in you."

Akira chuckles. "That's what you say, but I don't believe you… I'm glad to see you don't freak out so much though when I kiss you. I mean, the first time I did, you fell out of your chair right beforehand; the second time I did, you punched me in the face after; the third time I did, you threw me out of your room and nearly pushed me down the stairs after; and etcetera… Wow. Now that I think about it, you started getting kind of violent… Hopefully you stay nonviolent, like you were just now." Akira then smiles.

Light sighs. "You know, if you were a normal person, you would've already learned to not kiss me by now."

Akira tilts his head to the side. "But I'm not a normal person."

"Obviously."

**Author's Note:**

**Oh yeah, if you haven't realized, I don't show everything that goes on in the characters' lives. The time gap between this and the previous chapter is of ONE month. During that time Misa started dating Akira's older brother, and Misa and Akira have become good friends. Akira has also, obviously, been talking about Light to Misa and has told her to kill Light Yagami if he dies. Also, you can tell that Akira has been kissing Light quite a bit; sometimes on the lips, sometimes on the cheek, sometimes on the forehead, and sometimes on the neck. Obviously Akira's being very persistent and doesn't seem to care too much that Light often has violent reactions to the kisses or the mentioning of the kisses. **

**Please review!**


	22. Tennis and Coffee

**Author's Note: (~) means that the character is speaking in English rather than Japanese.**

Two days later when Light and Akira are at the university after classes have ended for the day, Light and Akira start walking to the tennis court because 'Ryuga' wants to play a game of tennis with Light. 'Ryuga' also asks Akira if he wants to play, but Akira refuses while smiling and saying that someone needs to be the scorekeeper / referee for them.

While L and Light are playing their tennis match and Akira is keeping score for the two up in the scorekeeper's chair, L and Light are trying to analyze each other, only to have their thoughts interrupted by Akira, who is loudly singing with his eyes shut and head swaying while listening to his IPod.

~[insert lyrics from a song from the U.S.]~

Light calls for a time-out during the match and shouts up at Akira. "Akira! What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be keeping score! And what the hell are you singing?"

Akira looks down at Light and pouts. "You don't like my singing?"

Light scowls. "No, you're a good singer, but you need to be keeping score. You can't have your eyes closed. And you definitely need to lower your voice. It's hard to concentrate with you singing so loudly."

"Okay…"

Now L is slightly surprised and looks up at Akira. "Yume-kun, you speak English?"

Akira blinks. "Uh, yeah. I'm bilingual."

"I had no idea… That makes sense for why your English doesn't have much of an accent though..."

Akira smirks. "Light's known this for ages."

"I see…"

Immediately after this, L and Light go back to their game, and in the end Light wins. By the time their match is over though, a large crowd has come to watch their playing.

Akira gets out of the scorekeeper's chair and bounces on over to L and Light, just after L has told Light that he suspects him of being Kira. "Hey, what are we gonna do now?"

Light looks at Akira. "Well, I'd like to talk to Ryuga alone, if that isn't a problem."

Akira pouts and whines. "Ah, come on, Lighty-kun. I'm bored."

Light's eye twitches slightly. "Akira, what kind of nickname is that supposed to be?"

Akira smiles brightly. "A cute one. I made it up just this morning."

"You sound like you're proud of that…"

"Uh-huh. You betcha."

*Well this is interesting… It appears that these two are very good friends after all… and it appears that Yagami isn't able to keep his composure around Yume like he is able to the rest of the time… If Yume is Kira, that would be very strange… He seems too joyful… Through him though, it may be easier to find out if Yagami is Kira... If Yagami is Kira 1 though, Yume is definitely Kira 2…* L interrupts the conversation after thinking this. "It's alright if Yume-kun comes along, Yagami-kun."

Light sighs. "Fine… Akira, you can come too."

Akira's smile brightens and he hugs Light. "Yay!"

Light glares at him. "Let go of me."

Akira lets go and then the trio heads to a nearby coffee shop.

Once they all get their coffee drinks and Light finds the place he wants to sit in the coffee shop, Akira frowns when he sees that the table is made for two people to sit across from each other and that there are only two chairs at the table. Akira walks over to another table and drags a chair over to their table, while Light and L take their seats. Akira plops the chair so that he is between the two young men and then takes a seat while putting his IPod earpieces in his ears and pressing 'Play' on his IPod.

Light then begins talking. "This is one of my favorite coffee shops. If you sit here in the back, nobody can hear what you're talking about."

L agrees. "You've picked the perfect place for this."

"Yeah. For one thing, back here nobody's going to be staring at you for sitting like that." Light says while laughing.

At this, Akira looks at L and his eyes bulge. "Wow! You do sit weird! Dude, you're gonna get a hunchback if you keep sitting like that!"

L ignores Akira and responds to Light. "True… I just can't sit any other way than this. If I sit the way other people do, my reasoning ability drops by forty percent… So, Yagami-kun, what did you want to ask me?"

"That can wait until you're positive that I'm not Kira. So you go ahead and start, Ryuga."

"In that case, I don't mean to be rude, but can I test you on your reasoning abilities?"

"Sure. Sounds like fun." Light takes a sip from his drink while thinking: *A test of my 'reasoning abilities,' my ass. He's testing me to see if I say anything only Kira could know… But if I clam up, afraid of letting something slip, does that make me Kira too? Well, to earn points for later, I need to show him that I do have some powers of deduction… The way things stand, he has no proof that I'm Kira and I have no way of proving that I'm not. I need to make him trust me so I can worm my way into the task force. I'll be fine. I know what's been reported and what hasn't. I've gone over it about a thousand times.*

"Does the fact that I've told you I'm L tell you anything?"

"Hmm… Let's see… It indicates you have some hopes that I can help you solve this case… and… that you've deduced that even if you tell someone who may be Kira that you're L, you won't be killed… or that you've taken some steps to ensure that you can't be killed… and that means, although news reports so far have said only that Kira needs to know what someone looks like to kill them, maybe he needs something else as well. In which case, that 'something else' would be their name. I draw this conclusion from the fact that, while L would always use an alias anyway, you made a point of calling yourself Hideki Ryuga, someone whose name and face are known to practically everyone in Japan."

"Correct."

"You're saying I'm right, just like that?"

"Why should I hide the fact that you're right?"

"And the probability that you're really L is extremely low."

"Why's that?"

"If I was L, I would reason that it's enough to have another person approach someone I suspect may be Kira and tell him that they're L. The real L needs to stay someplace safe at all times. Even when he's using the police, he needs to do that from the shadows, out of view."

"I see… You're right that anyone calling himself L puts himself in danger. And why would he come out into the open now, when he's never shown himself before? It would be stupid for the real L to do such a thing…"

*He seems pretty impressed, but… he's faking… right?* "Still, I actually think you really might be L, Ryuga."

"Meaning?"

"Well, most people probably imagine L to be a lot older than you, or more detective-like, somehow. You're too out of character to be a convincing fake, so you must be real…"

"And what are the odds that L took that into account in choosing me?"

"Hmm, since it's L we're talking about, I guess there's a good chance of that… When you start second-guessing and third-guessing like this, it's endless. I have to admit I'm getting pretty confused!" Light says while laughing.

After this, L has Light looks at photographs of notes written by prisoners shortly before they died and asks him what he thinks about this. L also tells Light that he believes the prisoners wrote the notes while under Kira's control.

While L and Light continue talking, Akira gets the feeling that something bad is happening and shivers. Right before L and Light's cellphones ring, Akira interrupts their conversation and says that he thinks something bad has happened. A moment later, L's cellphone rings, and then Light's cell phone rings. They all learn then that Soichiro Yagami, Light's father, has just had a heart attack.

**Author's Note:**

**So now you can see that Akira's becoming very affectionate towards Light and is acting cutesier. (All part of his plan to win Light's heart perhaps?) Anyway, Akira basically knew that something was wrong due to his psychic abilities, but he did not know that Soichiro had a heart attack until L and Light mentioned it.**

**Please review**


	23. Hospital

A little while later, Akira, Light, and L are all at Ibaraki Hospital, sitting in chairs near Soichiro's hospital bed, along with Sachiko.

Light begins talking to his father. "Are you really sure this was just caused by overwork?"

Sachiko shouts "Light! What are you saying?"

"Mom, he had a heart attack. Who wouldn't make the connection? I mean, that's the way every single one of Kira's victims has died…"

Soichiro frowns. "To be honest, that's exactly what crossed my mind as I was going down."

L calmly says "You head the task force in charge of this case… Kira has more than enough reason to want you dead. A murder attempt by Kira, hmm… We can't rule it out completely…"

Soichiro turns to his worried wife. "Sachiko. Light's here now, and anyway, I'm all right. You go on home. And not a word about this to Sayu. I don't want to upset her."

Sachiko walks out the door after replying "All right, then. I'll be back tomorrow with some more of your things…"

"Sure."

Once Sachiko has left and closed the door behind her, Soichiro begins to speak again. "I don't think it was Kira… Well, now that I think about it… being under all this pressure and the fear of being killed by Kira… I haven't had a good night's sleep in months. I was asking for it."

L pipes in with "Having your own son under suspicion must be an emotional strain as well."

Light fakes surprise and turns to L. "You told my father I'm under suspicion?"

"Yes. I've told your father everything. Including the fact that I'm L."

Light looks at his father for confirmation.

"That's right. This is L. We've been calling him 'Ryuzaki' so that nobody finds out, but this is definitely L."

*This… is really L… Akira's said this before… and my father says so too. So, in the very least, he's the L who's been giving orders to the police so far… If I get rid of him and all of the task force… No… It's not that simple. Well, no need to be hasty. If I take my time watching him… Anyway, right now I'm Light Yagami, concerned about my father…*

Soichiro continues talking. "So, Ryuzaki… has talking to my son cleared away your suspicions?"

"No. To be honest, all his comments regarding the Kira case were just too on-the-ball. It's made me suspect him even more."

"Hey, saying that to me is one thing, but don't say things in front of my dad that will upset his condition. Try to have a little consideration Ryuga."

"It's all right, Light. An ambiguous answer wouldn't make me feel any better. I much prefer hearing the truth. And even though you're under suspicion, I understand that it's not quite enough to make you an actual suspect."

"That's correct. You seem to misunderstand me a little, Yagami-kun. As I told you earlier, when I say 'suspicion', I'm talking about a very slight possibility."

Akira finally decides to chip in. "Yup." he says while nodding his head.

L looks at Akira. "You are also under suspicion of being Kira, Yume-kun… just so you know."

Akira frowns slightly and then shrugs. "I kind of figured as much."

"Why did you suspect that I suspect you of being Kira?"

"Because I came over to Japan just shortly before the Kira killings began."

"Yes, that is definitely one of the reasons why I suspect you may be Kira."

Akira shrugs again. "Whatever. I'm not Kira, and even if I were, you'd never get any evidence on me anyway."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm psychic. Being psychic helps me know things a normal person doesn't know… For example, I'm pretty sure you bugged Light's house a couple months ago… and I already knew you were L before you told Light… Oh, and… hmm… that's all I'm gonna say right now." Akira smiles.

Light decides to start acting again and shouts "What? You bugged my house?"

*Interesting… So Yume-kun is psychic? It could just be a trick, but why would he tell that to me?* "Yes I put surveillance in your house… Anyway, Yume-kun, there is now a 6% chance that you are Kira."

Akira shrugs again. "L, if I were Kira, do you really think you'd still be alive?"

"Yes, though I doubt you would want me alive."

"L, if you're saying that off the basis of the whole 'Kira needs a person's name to kill them' thing, then your logic is lacking."

L tilts his head to the side. "And why do you say that, Yume-kun?"

"Because I already know your name."

After Akira says this, the entire room is silent. Soichiro is confused as to how Akira could know L's name, Light is inwardly angry because he knows Akira is telling the truth yet refuses to tell him L's name, and L is worried about the possibility of Akira actually knowing his name.

"Yume-kun, how do you know my name?"

"I just told you that I'm psychic. I always know everyone's name when I see them."

"I see…" L calls a nurse into the room. "What's her name?"

Akira smiles. "Risa Tanaka."

L looks at the nurse, who is not wearing a name tag or any identification by the way, and asks "Is that your name?"

The nurse's eyes are wide and she nods, thinking to herself: *How does this boy know my name?*

L then asks the nurse to leave, while thinking to himself: *Well, there is always the possibility that he already knew this woman's name, but… odds are that he is telling the truth.* "I see… Yume-kun, have you ever considered that Kira can kill without having to be near his victims?"

Akira blinks. "That's kind of an obvious conclusion, don't you think? After all, how else could he kill criminals all over the world?"

"Yes, my thoughts exactly… Do you believe that Kira could be someone with psychic abilities?"

Akira scowls in disgust. "If you're implying that I'm killing people with my psychic abilities, then you're dead wrong. My abilities are not of that nature. My abilities revolve around knowledge, not action. I can know and sense things with my abilities, but I can't harm anyone with them."

"I never said you could or would harm anyone with your abilities. I'm simply asking if someone else could be."

Akira sighs. "It's always possible. I personally have never met another truly psychic person in my life before aside from myself though."

"Is anyone else in your family psychic?"

"No. It's not genetic. My mom was messing with the occult and stuff while pregnant with me, and that's why I'm like this. My mom doesn't have any psychic or magical abilities though."

A little while later, after L and Light end up talking about what they believe Kira is like, a nurse comes into the hospital room and tells them that visiting hours are over and that they have to leave.

Once outside of the hospital, after L has left in his limo, Light starts to speak to Ryuk while walking home with Akira. "Ryuk, I've never once considered that using the notebook and gaining this power a misfortune. In fact, it's made me happier than I've ever been. And I'm going to create a perfect world."

Ryuk laughs. "I couldn't care less whether the notebook's made you happy or unhappy. But as a rule, they say humans haunted by shinigami have nothing but misfortune."

"So you'll get to see what the exception to the rule is like, Ryuk."

"That's a lucky break for me."

Light begins to speak to Akira now. "Akira, why'd you tell L that you know his name and that you're psychic?"

"Because it's something that'll bug him for awhile and has nothing to do with the Kira case."

"Oh, okay."

A little while later they reach Akira's house and Akira shivers because he has the feeling that something bad is going to happen. "Hey, uh, Light?"

Light turns to look at him as he begins walking in the direction towards his own house. "What?"

"Be careful, okay? I have a feeling something bad's gonna happen, so keep a lookout, alright?"

"Sure thing."

"Oh, and I know it may be my week to hold on to the Death Note, but, Ryuk, could you stay with Light for awhile?"

Both Light and Ryuk are confused by this, but, nonetheless, Ryuk ends up following behind Light.

After walking for awhile, Light gets the feeling that he is being followed, though when he turns around, he doesn't see anything out-of-the-ordinary.

A little while later, all of a sudden, Light feels someone grab him from behind and cover his mouth and nose with a cloth as he struggles to move away. As Light falls into unconsciousness, he thinks to himself: *Damn… Chloroform… Akira was right…*

When Light is dragged into his kidnapper's car, Ryuk is in shock. *Wow. I never expected this to happen… It'll be interesting to see what happens next…*

As the car begins to drive away, Ryuk follows after to see what exactly is going to happen.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	24. Missed Calls

Sometime later on that night, Akira decides to call Light to make sure that everything is okay, because he still has the nagging feeling that something is wrong. When he calls Light's cellphone though, he is sent to voicemail every time. This makes him even more worried, since Light always answers his cellphone whenever he calls him. After a few more attempts to reach Light on his cellphone, Akira decides to call the Yagami house phone. When Sachiko answers the phone, he asks her if Light is home yet, and it is then that Akira learns that Light never made it home tonight. When Sachiko and Akira both realize that they have no idea where Light is, they both become extremely worried.

After talking for a little while, Akira hangs up the phone and sneaks out of his house since everyone in his home is now asleep. He then starts heading towards the hotel L is staying at. It is right when he is outside of the hotel, that Akira calls L to let him know that he will be at his room shortly and that there is something very important that they need to talk about.

Once Akira has called him, L is wondering: *How did Akira get my cell number? And how did Akira find out where I am staying at?*

When Akira finally enters the extravagant suite and sees the ever-so-slightly look of confusion on L's face, Akira rolls his eyes and says "I'm psychic, remember? Anyway, I've come to ask you where Light is."

L tilts his head to the side. "And why would I know where Yagami-kun is?"

Akira frowns. "Well I have the suspicious feeling that you probably did decide to follow Light's idea to lock him up somewhere… So where is he?"

"I have no idea, Yume-kun. The last time I saw Yagami-kun was at the hospital before you two left."

The frown on Akira's face worsens. "That means Light's been kidnapped."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, I've tried to call him multiple times on his cellphone, yet I keep getting voicemail. And Light always answers his phone when I call him, no matter where he is or what time it is. I also called his house and his mother told me that Light never came home, and I know he can't be at the hospital since visiting hours are over."

"It is always possible that he just wanted to go somewhere and not be bothered by anyone."

"Even if that were the case, he'd answer if I called him. Which he didn't."

"Perhaps he became annoyed with you."

"No. He was in a perfectly not-annoyed mood when he left me at my house. In fact, he seemed to be in a relatively good mood."

"I see… Is there anyone you know that has the motive to kidnap Yagami-kun?"

"No. But, of course, Light and I don't really hang around other people much… Perhaps it's someone who Light knows or Light's dad knows. It could be a jealous classmate, prior or current, or it could be a criminal or relative of a criminal that Light's dad had put away in jail. It could also be a random psychopath or a stalker that Light might have never known of. It's also possible that he was attacked by someone and is unconscious or dying in some random alley or something… but I really hope not…"

"Yume-kun, why is it that you decided to come to me for help when I suspect you two of being Kira? It could always be possible that I wouldn't have any interest in helping you."

By now, Akira has sat down on a sofa that is right next to the chair L is strangely sitting in. "Because you're a good guy, L. After all, you don't have any direct evidence pointing to Light or me in regards to the Kira case, and there's no way you would want something bad to happen to an innocent person. Plus, the strangeness of the case should be enough to intrigue you. After all, a guy that supposedly has done absolutely nothing wrong is suddenly kidnapped one day, and the guy also just so happens to be suspected of being Kira and is the son of the head of the NPA and Kira task force? Of course you'd want to work on solving this case… Besides, I figured that I should come to you since I figured you'd take on this case, whereas regular police wait like 24 hours or something retarded before they start searching for a missing person. They always assume the person's not in danger or is a runaway, but in those 24 hours the person could be dead already… I myself do not like the idea of Light being dead, and I'd like him to be found as soon as possible. All of these are reasons why I came to you for help."

"Why are none of his family members are with you?"

"Well, you know Soichiro's in the hospital, Sayu is asleep and has school tomorrow, and Sachiko is still awake and worried, but I told her that I'd go to the police and tell them about Light being missing and that she should stay home just in case Light calls or comes home."

"I see… Well, there isn't too much we can do right now, but we can try to start working on the case. I doubt we will find any clues to Yagami-kun's whereabouts until the morning though. Plus, he may come home on his own by then."

"Okay… I'm gonna help you as much as possible on this case, L… I mean, I know you're the world's greatest detective and all, but I have the feeling that I'm going to need to help still."

"That is fine with me, Yume-kun… Does your family know that you are here?"

"No. I snuck out. They're all asleep at the moment."

"I see… Well, if that is the case, then I really do think you should go home, Yume-kun. You can come here tomorrow, in the morning. I'll begin working on the case now."

"Okay…"

Akira then leaves the hotel room and goes home, while L begins working on the new case.

Once Light awakens, after having been rendered unconscious, he begins to worry. *Okay, so what the hell has just happened? Let's see… I've just been kidnapped, right? Yeah, that sounds about right… and now I'm in a dark room. Oh, wait… no… I'm blindfolded. That's why it's so dark… Okay… let's see… Can I move?* Light moves his legs. *Okay, so at least my legs are able to move… What about my arms? It feels like something's around my wrists… Handcuffs… That's what's around them… Can I move away from where I'm sitting?* Light tries to move away from his position but is unable to. *Okay… So I can't move away… It feels like my back's against the corner of a bed… and I'm definitely sitting on the floor… I guess the handcuffs are connected to the bed… Well I'm definitely gagged… Whoever did this definitely put a lot of tape over my mouth, seeing as I can't open it… And there must be earplugs in my ears, because I can't seem to hear anything when I should be able to hear at least something… Anything else? I think that's it… Everything else about me feels the same still… I don't think I'm injured, because I'd be in pain, right? Yeah, I don't think I'm hurt at all… Not yet at least…*

A moment later, Light sees that the cloth covering his eyes is of a lighter color, and realizes that someone must have turned on a light in the room he is in. He feels the vibrations of someone's footsteps coming closer to him from the floor, and feels someone touch his ears and remove the earplugs.

Light's kidnapper then begins to talk to Light with malice in his voice. "Hello Light Yagami. How's it feel to be powerless? To know that you can't always be number one? Hm? You always act as if you're better than everyone else, but you know what? You're not. You're just as pathetic as everyone else. Oh, and you know what? Your brains are utterly useless right now. You wanna know why? Because I've ensured that there's nothing you can do that can help you escape. From now on, you'll be at my mercy, because I can do whatever the hell I feel like doing to you."

At this, Light attempts to kick his kidnapper, but this only angers the man, and he grabs Light by his hair and slams his head back into the hard metal corner of the bed frame. This causes Light to become unconscious once more.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	25. New Case

**WARNING: **

**This chapter contains a rape scene. Not graphic, but still rape. Since this story is primarily Teen in content, I'm not changing the rating to Mature just because a few chapters have some mature content. The beginning and end of the rape scene are labelled so you can avoid it.**

The next morning, when L and the Kira task force are discussing the Kira case, Akira comes into the hotel suite unannounced.

All of the NPA members are surprised, especially because they don't know who Akira is, and they all turn to L with questioning facial expressions.

"Ryuzaki, who is this kid?"

L very calmly takes a sip of tea before answering. "This is Akira Yume. He'll be working with us for awhile on the latest case."

"Are you saying that we're going to start working on another case?"

"Yes. It appears that Light Yagami has been kidnapped, so we will be taking a break from the Kira case in order to find him."

"What? Light's been kidnapped?" the task force members shout with shock.

"Yes. That seems to be the case." L turns to Akira. "Did Yagami-kun ever come home or contact you?"

Akira shakes his head glumly. "No. I called his mom this morning, and she said he never came home or called her… I haven't seen him or had any contact with him since last night either."

"I see… Then it is very likely that he has, indeed, been kidnapped… What we need to find out is who may be behind this."

"L, I think that we should probably check into Light's past and current classmates. Most likely he was abducted by someone he knows."

"Yes. My thoughts exactly, Yume-kun. Aizawa and Ukita, I want you to get the files of Yagami-kun's prior classmates and bring them here. Matsuda, I want you to go to To-Oh University and bring all of their camera footage of the past week here. Mogi, I want you to go to the university with Matsuda, and get all of the files of Yagami-kun's current classmates and bring them here. Yume-kun, I would like you to go to the hospital and inform Yagami-san of the new situation. I am sure his wife will be there as well, so you can update her on the situation as well... I think it would be best if everyone gets this done as soon as possible."

At this, everyone leaves the suite to go to their destinations to complete their assignments. Aizawa and Ukita go to Light's old high school, Matsuda and Mogi go to Light's new university, and Akira goes to Ibaraki hospital.

* * *

**A/N: Rape Scene**

Light wakes up again in what feels like a few hours later, wincing as he moves and feels the sharp handcuffs scrape against his wrists.

He is still blindfolded and wearing the handcuffs with his mouth taped up, but now the earplugs are gone at least. Light hears a door slowly open and footsteps approach him, and soon after feels hot breath on his ear.

"If you know what's best for you, you'll do exactly as I say." his kidnapper whispers.

Light tries to yell "What the hell do you want from me?", but the tape prevents him from speaking clearly and it comes out quiet and mumbled.

His kidnapper then places his hand on the side of Light's cheek. "Oh, don't worry. You'll find out what I want soon enough, Light." The kidnapper starts to laugh manically, and then pulls Light off of the ground by one of his legs and throws his body onto the bed.

"Let's see how the 'prodigy', Light Yagami, feels about this." he says as he reaches for the zipper on Light's pants, while Light tries to scream for him to stop. He then shoves his hand inside Light's pants and starts to squeeze him, still not seeming to notice Light's attempted shrieks.

Tears start to soak through Light's blindfold as he thinks about what is going to happen to him. His body is then flipped around, and his pants and underwear are pulled to his knees. He hears what sounds like a zipper opening, and then, without warning, has something warm and hard shoved inside of him. He starts crying even harder as he realizes that he is being raped.

He tightens all of his muscles, hoping that if it hurts the other person, he will stop. Instead, he is hit on the back of the head and pulled closer by his hair, and his rapist now angrily hisses "If you don't do what I want how I want, I will make this even worse for you." With that, the rapist starts to thrust back in a few times, intentionally hurting Light, until he is finished for the time being.

The kidnapper/rapist then gets up when he is done, zips his own pants back up, and leaves the sniffling crying mess that is Light Yagami alone in the dark with his pants still down to suffer in silence. "I would tell you not to go anywhere, but it doesn't look like you'll be doing that for a while."

Light's kidnapper then snickers as he shuts the door behind him.

**A/N: End of rape scene**

* * *

Later on that day, Aizawa, Ukita, Matsuda, and Mogi come back to L's hotel room with all of the items he told them to get. The five men then start to go through all of the files and camera footage.

Sometime later on, Akira comes back to L's hotel room after telling Sachiko and Soichiro the bad news about their son most likely having been kidnapped, and after having called Misa and telling her that he needs her to come over to his house the next day so he can talk to her about what he needs her to do.

The rest of the day the six men all work on going through the files and footage. After working until it is the next night though, L sends Akira home since he can see that Akira isn't used to staying up for this long.

Shortly after Akira gets home and explains everything to his parents, Misa comes over to the Yume house to find out what Akira wants her to do.

When Misa is in Akira's room, she can see that Akira is absolutely exhausted, and this furthers her resolve to help him however he needs her to.

Akira has deep bags under his eyes and his eyes are drooping from exhaustion, and when he begins talking, Misa can hear how tired Akira is. "Okay, Misa. I'm gonna need you to start killing criminals, okay? You see, Light and I have a certain killing pattern, and, well, Light got kidnapped just the other day. That means he can't keep up his killing pattern… and since I'm working on the case to find Light, that means I can't really continue to keep up my killing pattern either. This isn't good though, because L already suspects Light and me of being Kira. If he notices a change in Kira's killing pattern or a decrease of deaths among criminals right now, then he will basically have evidence that Light and I are Kira, which you know is not good at all… Basically, I need you to perform the killings that Light and I would do, while keeping Kira's killing pattern the same. This means you need to kill the same number of people with the same number of heart attacks and peaceful deaths, at the same times that they would normally occur… Do you think you can handle this, Misa?"

Misa nods. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

"Good." Akira then hands his Death Note to Misa. "I need you to keep hold of this for awhile, and for you to look through it so you can understand the killing pattern you need to maintain for me and Light and so we aren't suspected of being Kira. To make things easier for you, I've made notes in the Death Note for what day each person died and what their cause of death was… You're positive that you can do this for me?"

Misa nods again. "Yes. I'll do the best I can for you."

Akira smiles. "Thank you. I'm glad I can trust you to do this, because I already have enough to worry about. This makes things a little easier for me… Oh, and I'll tell you when I want my Death Note back, so just hold on to it until I ask for it."

"Is that all?"

"… Yeah, that's it."

"Okay." Misa then tucks Akira's Death Note into her large black purse and leaves Akira so he can sleep.

Once Misa reaches her apartment, she begins to work on her assignment of playing the role of both Kiras.

**Author's Note:**

**This chapter was co-written with shericka (since I'm not any good at writing rape/torture scenes). She is a user of this site.**

**Please review**


	26. Useless Ryuk

**WARNING: **

**This chapter contains a torture scene. Not graphic, but still torture. Since this story is primarily Teen in content, I'm not changing the rating to Mature just because a few chapters have some mature content. The beginning and end of the torture scene are labelled so you can avoid it.**

**A/N: Torture Scene**

Light sits up and grimaces as he feels the fresh cuts on his back throbbing. He is sitting, now naked, in front of what he has now determined to be the kidnapper's friend. The day before he had had his earplugs taken out again and heard their conversation in the room. The basics of it were that now his rapist was telling other people about him so they could join in.

"So, how'd a pretty guy like you end up here?" the friend now whispers to him before chuckling.

"Oh, that's right. You can't talk, can you? That's because you have no control over what's happening here. My friend told me that you're a fighter." He says while rubbing Light's bruised cheek. "Unlike him, I'm not here to pleasure myself with you. Honestly, all I want to do is whip you a little bit." he says with a sadistic smile in his voice.

Within seconds, Light hears the, now familiar, sound of leather zipping through the air before being stricken on the chest. His kidnapper had already whipped and beat him the entire two days before, and now when he wasn't, his friend was. Light mentally screams, but only muted shrieks come out.

Light can feel something wet and warm slip out from the place he has been hit, and realizes that he is bleeding. The other man continues to strike him with the whip until he is reduced to nothing more than a sobbing, bleeding mess. He can feel that his skin has been slashed through by the whip in over ten places and his chest is almost completely covered in his own blood.

Light then feels the earplugs roughly shoved back inside his ears and feels a wet cloth start to wipe away his blood. He listens closely, and even through the earplugs hears his kidnapper yell at the other man, saying that he doesn't want to disfigure him because then he won't be any 'fun'. They argue back and forth for a bit, with Light not being able to understand most of what they say. He then hears the door slam shut, and his kidnapper continues to wipe the blood off of Light's chest.

**A/N: End of torture scene**

* * *

It has now been a little over a week since Light was kidnapped, and even though Akira is psychic and L is a genius, the case's trail is running cold. This is only to be expected though because Light was kidnapped in the middle of the night in an area where many people don't pass by even during the day.

So far Akira's psychic abilities and L's extremely intelligent brain have been useless in this case, and no suspicious activity has been reported among Light's current and prior classmates. There currently aren't any suspects, and time appears running out for Light.

This whole past week, there is one thing that has really been bothering Akira though. This one thing just so happens to be about the whereabouts of Ryuk. Akira had made Ryuk go with Light so that Light would be safe, but obviously that didn't work. And even though Light was kidnapped, Akira hasn't seen Ryuk this whole time. Akira has concluded that this means Ryuk is with Light, but does that mean that Ryuk is helping keep Light safe? Akira doubts it, and this makes him even more upset. After all, if Ryuk isn't helping Light, then why won't Ryuk just go to Akira and tell him where Light is so that he can save Light?

As if Ryuk somehow heard Akira's thoughts about him, Ryuk decides to appear in Akira's room shortly after Akira comes home for some rest this day.

When Akira sees the ugly, gothic-looking clown of a shinigami, he is very surprised that he has actually come back to him. Akira just stares at the shinigami for a minute before coming to the realization that Ryuk may have come back to him because Light is dead. Very hesitantly, Akira asks Ryuk "Is Light dead?"

"No… I just want an apple…"

Akira scowls, runs downstairs to fetch Ryuk an apple, and then throws the apple at Ryuk once he is back inside his room. "Well?" Akira asks as Ryuk gorges himself on the apple, eating it as if he were a starving child living in a poor neighborhood.

"Well what?" Ryuk replies in-between chomping on his apple.

"Where's Light? What's happened to him? Etcetera?"

"Oh, he got - I guess you humans call it - kidnapped?… Right now he's at some guy's house… Um, what else exactly do you want to know?"

"How is he? What's his condition? Where is he being held, specifically?"

"Well, Light's not doing too good." Ryuk continues to munch on his apple. "Let's see, um, he's handcuffed, blindfolded, gagged… that sort of thing… And um… he's been whipped and beaten a couple of times and - I guess you'd call it - raped?... Oh, and he's got quite a deal of bruises and cuts on him…" Ryuk sees the horrified look on Akira's face. "Well I told you he's not doing too well. This shouldn't really be surprising. After all, isn't that what usually happens when someone gets kidnapped?"

"Yeah…" Akira says while looking at the floor and frowning. "Okay, so where is he specifically? I mean, you were just there, right? So tell me the address of the bastard that kidnapped him, and then this whole thing will be over already."

"Can't do that."

Akira snatches the apple out of Ryuk's hand and keeps a firm grip on it as he glares at Ryuk with his now-darkened eyes. "I don't give a damn about you having fun right now! Tell me where this mother f***ing a**hole is keeping Light! Now!"

Ryuk looks at the apple and then at Akira. "I can't tell you where he is because… well I don't remember where he is…"

Akira stomps over to his window, opens it, and then chucks the apple out the window. "If you don't find him, I'll make sure you never eat another apple again as long as you live!"

"Well I guess there's always the viewing holes…"

"The viewing holes?"

"Yeah, in the Shinigami realm there are these places where you can look through and see the Human realm. If you know the name of a certain person and want to find them, then you can find them easily there."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go there already and find Light!"

"I'm supposed to stay attached to the human that has my Death Note…"

"Ryuk. I don't have the Death Note right now, and you've never minded hanging around Light or me even if we didn't have the Death Note with us. I think you can go to the Shinigami realm for a few minutes and find Light."

"Well…"

Akira threatens in a menacing tone "Ryuk. Go to the Shinigami realm and find Light, or else you'll never get to eat another apple again. I'll personally make sure you only get to eat dirt for the rest of eternity."

"Fine."

At this, Ryuk leaves Akira's house and ascends into the sky to go to the Shinigami realm. When Ryuk gets there though, he gets distracted and ends up gambling with some of the other shinigami.

A few hours later, Ryuk comes back to Akira's room, and he sees an expectant Akira waiting for him. "Well?"

"Uh… What was I supposed to do?"

Akira's eyes turn dark again and he grabs hold of Ryuk's face, pulling him down to his eye level. Akira hisses at him "You. Were. Supposed. To. Find. Light."

"Oh."

At this moment, Akira's cellphone begins to ring, so Akira lets go of Ryuk so he can answer his phone. Akira puts a fake cheerful tone in his voice. "Yes?"

On the other end of the line, is L. "We've found a witness. I need you to head to the police station. The other task force members are already there and are questioning the witness as we speak."

Akira's eyes widen and now his cheerful tone becomes real. "Oh! Okay! I'll be there really soon! Bye!" Akira then hangs up the phone and runs out of his house towards the police station.

**Author's Note:**

**This chapter was co-written with shericka, so please check out her stories.**

**Please review**


	27. Police

Light's face flattens against the fist that is aimed at his face.

"I told you already. Just shut the hell up and do what I tell you and this'll be a lot easier for you." Light's kidnapper says angrily.

Light had practically been beaten to a pulp for all his 'disobedience' to him. Now Light is swaying back and forth and feels himself going in and out of consciousness.

"Just do what I tell you dammit!" the kidnapper says before slamming his fist into Light's face again. He then lifts Light up slightly and drops him as he slams his knee into Light's chest. Light feels his breath escape from his body as his mind falls into deep nothingness.

The kidnapper looks back down at him, noticing his slowed breathing. "You alright?" he asks while leaning in closer and poking at him, then noticing the lack of strain. He grumbles at the fact that Light isn't conscious; less fun to mess with.

He then hears a loud thump at the door of his apartment, followed by "This is the police! Open up!"

He scrambles to wrap Light in a blanket and quickly shoves him into the far back of the closet in his room. He then goes to the bathroom and wipes the blood off of his fist before approaching the door and trying to act innocent.

"Hello?" he tries to ask unknowingly.

"Is there something wrong?" he questions as his voice waivers.

The police show him their badges and then continue.

"Are you Yukaino Suruhe?" Soichiro asks sternly.

"Yes. What seems to be the problem officers?"

Aizawa glares at the younger man. "We're going to need to search the premises."

Yukaino's heart rate speeds up, but he smiles at the police officers. "I'm afraid you'll need to have a warrant."

"We already do." Aizawa says as he holds the warrant in front of Yukaino's face.

At this Yukaino's heart begins pounding faster and his eyes widen for a moment. "Um… okay…" He then moves away from the door and tries to think of a plan. "So, um, what is the reason that you want to search my apartment?"

Matsuda opens his mouth to explain, but Aizawa shakes his head at him as the police officers begin to search the house. After searching all of the rooms, the officers find no trace of Light's presence, and Yukaino sighs in relief.

The officers hesitantly consider leaving, but then a thought comes to Matsuda: Perhaps Light isn't in a normal room. Matsuda then re-searches the apartment and then searches other places. At the end of it all, he takes a look in the closet Light had been shoved inside of, and turns on the light. He goes to the back of it and notices that there is a blanket covering what could be a person. He removes the blanket and his eyes widen. "Guys! I found him!"

Aizawa and Soichiro glare at Yukaino when they hear this, and Aizawa handcuffs the kidnapper as Soichiro blocks Yukaino from escaping. "You are under arrest for the kidnapping of Light Yagami. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law."

Aizawa then drags Yukaino out of the apartment with Yukaino struggling to get away the entire time.

Meanwhile, Soichiro enters the bedroom of the apartment and walks over to the closet, where Matsuda is checking to make sure that Light is still alive. "H-how is he?"

Matsuda looks back at the chief and frowns. "Well he's definitely alive, but I don't know how badly he's injured. He needs to go to the hospital and get checked out by a doctor."

Soichiro nods glumly before making a phone call for an ambulance to come and get his son. Afterwards, he calls L and tells him that they've found Light and that an ambulance is coming to take him to the hospital, as well as the fact that they've apprehended Light's kidnapper.

After Soichiro hangs up his phone, L looks at Akira and tells him that the kidnapper has been arrested and that Light is heading for the hospital.

Right now Akira and L are sitting at the police station, near the room where the witness and the kidnapper's accomplice are sitting and are being watched by Mogi and Ukita.

Akira sighs and hangs his head. "I really hope he's okay." he says quietly.

L doesn't say anything in response. Rather, he thinks about the events of the past day that lead to finding Light…

It was late at night when the witness came in to the police station, and L was notified about it almost immediately. He and the other task force members headed down to the police station to question the witness after he received the phone call about this.

The witness was a young man named Teruki Aijo. He was a current classmate of Light's at To-Oh University and only knew who Light was because Light had been one of the freshman class representatives.

He said that a classmate of his named Kyo Hanashi was talking to him when they went and got some beers from another classmate of theirs. Kyo was really drunk after awhile and started talking about various things, eventually talking about how his friend, Yukaino Suruhe, had one of the freshman class representatives back at his apartment.

Teruki then went on to tell the police how Kyo was talking about how fun it was to hurt the guy because he seemed so stuck up, and how Kyo seemed disgusted by the fact that Yukaino was apparently 'pleasuring himself' with this guy.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Yukaino Suruhe had kidnapped and had been raping Light, and that Kyo Hanashi was torturing Light. It was naturally assumed that both men had spent some time beating Light as well.

Once Akira showed up at the police station with hope-filled eyes, L filled him in on what the witness had said, only to see Akira's face lose its natural lively appearance.

When Akira's face turned serious he asked L to take him to see the witness so he could verify whether or not the witness was telling the truth.

After talking with the witness for awhile Akira came out of the interrogation room and frowned as he told everyone that the witness was telling the truth.

Sometime later Kyo Hanashi was brought to the police station for questioning. At first he refused to say anything (especially without his lawyer being present), though when his lawyer finally did appear, Kyo stupidly ended up confessing and telling the police everything they wanted to know. (He apparently figured that he could get a lighter sentence if he told the police about Yukaino. The thing is though that the police never made any such offer, so this definitely did not end up being the case).

After this, the task force found out all that they could about Yukaino Suruhe.

Yukaino Suruhe was a student at To-Oh University. His father was a doctor and his mother had died when he was young. Shortly before the school year began, Yukaino's father moved to Osaka to begin working in private practice. Since Yukaino was interested in attending To-Oh University though, his father had bought him an apartment so he could go to the school and live alone. (After all, Yukaino's father was a doctor that made quite a lot of money).

Yukaino lived alone for a few months and had a record of violent behavior. Once he had been tried for attempted rape of one of his female classmates, and he had once been charged with assault of one of his male classmates. Both of these instances occurred while he was still in high school.

Since Yukaino fit the profile of the probable unsub, L got a warrant so that they could search his apartment and possibly find Light there. Then he had Matsuda, Aizawa, and Soichiro go to Yukaino's apartment and had Mogi and Ukita keep an eye on the witness and the kidnapper's accomplice. (Granted Kyo Hanashi did not help Yukaino kidnap Light, but he was involved enough to be considered the man's accomplice)…

A little while after L receives the phone call from Soichiro about how the unsub has been apprehended, Aizawa and Matsuda come into the police station with an angry Yukaino. They take him to a different interrogation room than the one the witness and the accomplice are in.

Of course, Yukaino is smart enough to wait for his lawyer to appear, and even when his lawyer does appear, he doesn't admit to committing any crime. Instead he continues lying about his innocence and claims that Kyo was the one who committed the crime, not him.

After awhile of Yukaino trying to pin the crime on Kyo, he slips up and it becomes apparent that he is completely lying. Obviously he committed the crime since he had Light in his closet, unconscious, handcuffed, blindfolded, and gagged. Plus, they find some of Light's skin cells under Yukaino's fingernails, and some of Yukaino's sperm on the outside of Light's mouth.

After some more questioning, the witness, Teruki Aijo, is released, and Kyo Hanashi and Yukaino Suruhe are held in police custody. Kyo Hanashi will be charged with the battery and assault of Light Yagami, and he will also receive charges for being an accomplice in Light's kidnapping. Yukaino Suruhe will be charged with the assault, battery, rape, and kidnapping of Light Yagami.

**Author's Note:**

**This chapter was co-written with shericka, so please check out her stories.**

**Please review**


	28. Awake

Light sluggishly opens his eyes, removing the darkness from his sight, to find himself in a bright white room with various people nearby. He is confused as he looks around the room and has no idea where he is. *Am I dead? Is this heaven?*

Light continues looking around and then tries to move. He is unable to and sees that he is hooked up to many machines. *Hmm... A hospital?... Yeah, this must be a hospital. There's no way that heaven would be like this. After all, what purpose would technology serve the dead?*

Light continues looking around the room to see if anyone in the room looks familiar. *Who are these people?*

His eyes, while travelling, land on his parents, who are sitting in chairs against the wall on his right. *Who are those old people over there? What are they doing here?... Man they look exhausted.*

His eyes then trail towards his sister, who is sleeping in the chair next to his parents. *And what's that girl doing here? Is she the kid of those two old people? Maybe… She does look like she could be their kid…*

His eyes continue looking around the room and they fall on Akira, who is sleeping in a chair on the left side of his hospital bed. *And who's he? He definitely doesn't look related to those three on the right… What are they all doing here? Shouldn't my family be here if I'm in the hospital?... Wait a minute… Who is my family?*

Light begins to panic. *Why can't I remember who my family is? Where are they? Why am I here in a hospital anyway?*

Light's eyes widen when he comes to another realization. *Who the hell am I? Why don't I know my name?*

He begins twisting his head, looking around for an answer, or at least for some clue about his life. *Oh my god… and I can't remember anything? Oh no. Oh no. This is not good… What's wrong with me? Why can't I remember anything?*

Light takes a deep breath to try to calm himself. *Okay, I need to calm down. Maybe if I just don't panic things'll be okay. Maybe I'll remember something… Now what's it called when you have memory loss?... Amnesia… Okay… So I have amnesia? I guess I must, right? That's the only thing that makes sense anyway… Hmm…*

Light takes another look at everyone in the room. *Okay… If I think about things logically, I have to assume that the two old people on my right are most likely my parents and that that girl is most likely my younger sister… Hmm… Yeah, that sounds about right… Okay, then who is this guy on my left? An adopted brother perhaps?... No, that doesn't sound right… A cousin?... No, that doesn't sound right either… Perhaps a friend?... Well I guess he could be… If he's my friend though, how come none of my other friends are here? Was I that antisocial before?... Hmm… Perhaps he's no ordinary friend?... That could be it… Perhaps I had many friends but they weren't as close to me as this guy?... That does sound about right… but it's also possible that he's the only true friend I have and that every all my other friends are lousy friends… That's a depressing thought… Okay, so this guy's my friend?... What about best friend?... Best friend sounds close… Something doesn't seem quite right about that though… Were we… lovers?... No… That can't be possible, can it? I mean, I'm definitely not gay as far as I know… I've dated plenty of girls and have had crushes on girls multiple times, right? It feels like that's the case… So why does it seem like we're more than just friends?...*

Light begins to dwell on this question, but stops mid-thought when he sees Akira stir in his chair. Within a matter of moments, Akira is wide awake, staring at Light with his mouth agape. Light tilts his head to the side and takes in everything that he sees.

*So this guy's surprised that I'm awake? Or perhaps he's surprised I'm alive?... Hmm… Well he's certainly very pretty, isn't he? Definitely prettier than most guys… Hell, he's better-looking than most girls probably too… How are we connected? Should I ask?... Maybe not right now…*

Akira starts talking, eyes still wide. "Light? How're you feeling?"

Light blinks in response. *Huh. So that's my name?... What a strange name… Is this guy a foreigner? He must be. He said my name in English rather than Japanese after all…*

Light glances at Akira's eyes. *Hmm… He definitely must be a foreigner. After all, it doesn't seem normal to me for a Japanese guy to have green eyes… He must be part European…Or perhaps they're contacts? That would be unusual, but not unheard of… Though wouldn't it be less unusual to wear some other color? Perhaps blue?... Oh well, his eyes are quite pretty… Oh! He's expecting me to answer him, huh?*

Light opens his mouth and tries to speak, but no sound comes out. A look of confusion spreads across his face and a look of worry spreads across Akira's face. *Huh, so I can't talk? Strange… He seems upset by this… Perhaps we are more than friends… though I doubt we're lovers…*

A look of amusement spreads across Light's face. *Ah, perhaps he's a bodyguard for me… Wait. No. That's just ridiculous… I do get the feeling that he's like my self-proclaimed bodyguard though… Hmm… Bodyguard doesn't sound quite right… Guardian angel. That sounds about right. He's a lovely little angel huh?... Actually, that sounds right for some reason… I must've thought of him as being angelic… He must be nice…That means I can trust him, right? Yup. That sounds okay… He's my angel.*

Light smiles contently at Akira, who is now staring at him with a worried expression still.

A few minutes pass and L appears in the hospital room. Light hears him enter and turns to see who this person is. Light tilts his head to the side in confusion. *Who the hell is this guy? Why's he look like a hobo? And why is he just staring at me, not saying anything?*

L then decides to speak. "Yume-kun, there is something we need to discuss regarding this case."

Akira then gets up from his chair and begins heading out of the room. When this happens, Light's eyes widen and then he glares at L while L calmly returns his glare. *What the hell? Why's this hobo taking my angel away from me? He's mine! Not his! And look at him, all calm and emotionless! The nerve of him! He should be happy that an angel even is being gracious enough to acknowledge his existence, let alone talk to him!*

Akira and L leave Light glaring furiously in the hospital room and walk into the hallway.

Once away from the hospital room, Akira begins to speak. "Okay, so what's up?"

"I just wanted to inform you that Light's kidnappers are going to be receiving the maximum sentences for their crimes. I also wanted to tell you that if they die any time soon that I will have no choice but to arrest you and Yagami-kun under suspicion of being Kira."

"What the hell? Why are you saying this now?"

"If either of you are Kira, then logically you would kill the two men for revenge."

Akira glares at L. "Oh really? Isn't it possible that Kira would kill them just because of the crimes they've committed?"

"Perhaps. Nonetheless I will be forced to assume that you or Yagami-kun is Kira if they die."

Akira scowls. *Dammit! He knew that's what I was planning, huh? Even though he's not psychic he's still able to read people!* "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"No. I also wanted to tell you that I believe it would be best if you keep an eye on Yagami-kun for awhile. Due to what he has experienced recently, he is bound to have at least some psychological issues."

Akira frowns. "You know the doctors have also said that he may suffer from amnesia and not remember anything, right?"

"Yes, though I believe he will very likely have psychological issues regardless."

"Uh-huh. I don't think he remembers anything though. He seemed too happy and was smiling a lot. In fact, he was smiling more than he normally does. Plus, he didn't seem to recognize who I was. I could see the confusion on his face."

"I see… If that is the case, then I must say that that is very strange. It appeared to me that he was very attached to you. He was even glaring at me after I mentioned that I wanted to speak with you."

Akira's eyes widen. "Really? I didn't notice that."

"I did. That is why I am asking you, specifically, to watch over him. Even if he doesn't remember who you are, he seems particularly attached to you."

"Okay." Akira sighs.

Then the two return to Light's hospital room and Akira notices that Light is glaring at L. Akira blinks in surprise. *Wow. L was right… Or perhaps it's just that he's angry with L for some reason?*

Akira walks over to Light's hospital bed and sits down in the chair he had occupied earlier. Akira glances back at Light and sees that Light has a relieved smile on his face and is looking at him with a look of adoration. *Oh wow. L really was right… He's gotta have amnesia though. The Light I know would never be like this... Wait a minute… This is the personality change I sensed was coming! Oh my. All this crap had to happen for his personality to change? Why didn't I think that Light's personality would change due to something awful? Why did I just think he would randomly become a different person? God that was a stupid thing to believe… Jeezes I hope he doesn't have mental problems now... Though the chances of that are slim…*

"Light? Can you say something? You know, just to make sure your voice is okay and all." *After all, you didn't seem able to talk before.*

Light raises an eyebrow at Akira and tries to speak, though again no sound comes out of his mouth. Both Light and Akira frown as they realize that Light is now unable to speak, and L puts a thumb to his lips. "It would appear that Yagami-kun is unable to speak. Even though he appears to be rather joyful, it would appear that he is indeed suffering mental problems."

Akira looks back at L while still frowning. "So are you saying that his brain's damaged?"

"Well that may be the case, though I was referring to the possibility that subconsciously he is suffering psychological issues. He himself may not remember anything consciously, though he very well may subconsciously… I believe it would be best for him to visit a psychiatrist once he is discharged from the hospital."

"Yeah… That would probably be a good idea… Hey, you know my dad's a psychiatrist, right?"

"Yes. I found that out a while ago when I had a background check done on you."

Akira smiles. "I figured you'd do something like that… Anyway, maybe it'd be a good idea for Light to see my dad. After all, my dad does specialize in patients that have been through traumatic experiences."

"I will be sure to take that into consideration, Yume-kun."

Akira nods and then glances back to Light, who is glaring at L once more. "Why is Light so angry with you?"

"Perhaps he is feeling jealous that he doesn't have your undivided attention."

Akira raises an eyebrow. "Really? That's not normal for Light."

"Well that is what appears to be the case right now."

"Okay… Should we wake his family right now?"

"That would probably be best."

Akira then gets up out of his chair, walks towards the other side of the room, and gently nudges the Yagami family awake.

Once the Yagami family is awake, the three people (Sayu, Sachiko, and Soichiro) rush to Light's hospital bed and begin talking hurriedly and hugging him. Light is somewhat annoyed by this since he isn't completely sure that these people are his family, but he lets them do this nonetheless.

A little while later a doctor and a psychiatrist at the hospital do a few extra tests on Light and tell the Yagami family, L, and Akira the results in the hallway outside of Light's hospital room. The doctor begins speaking first.

He says "As far as I can tell, Light is physically doing okay despite the fact that he was in a coma for two months. His concussion has completely healed, the sprained bones and cuts are healed, and it appears that he is not suffering from internal bleeding or brain damage. It does seem that he is having difficulty in speaking and may have amnesia though."

The doctor then nods to the psychiatrist so that she may tell her findings. "Well to elaborate on that, there is nothing physically wrong with him when it comes to speaking. His vocal chords are perfectly healthy and the area of the brain that handles language is in perfect condition as well. It does seem that he very likely has amnesia, so I am unsure of what he will remember. He may not remember the recent experience he has been through and it is also possible that he may not remember some things that occurred prior to the incident. Depending on how much the concussion and the trauma have affected his brain, there may be many things that he will be incapable of remembering. And, of course, he may regain the memories he has lost, though not necessarily. I would recommend that he visit a psychiatrist at least once a week for the next few months just to be sure that he isn't suffering psychologically. He may start behaving differently and maybe even strangely due to what he has been through. It would not be unusual in his case."

Shortly after this, the doctor and the psychiatrist leave, and the five people go back inside the hospital room until visiting hours are over for the day.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	29. Toying With Death

Wammy's House is and has always been like any other orphanage… except for the fact that all of these orphans are geniuses being trained to become the next L; to replace him should something ever happen to him.

The one who is first in line to succeed L is a boy who goes by the alias "Near". He is five feet tall, antisocial, logical, and has white hair. Basically he appears like an old man trapped in a teenage boy's body. The exception to this is the fact that he walks around in white pajamas all the time and constantly is playing with toys or solving a puzzle.

Even though Near is as intelligent as he is, he never cleans up after himself. (Another sign of his immaturity). Well, it should come as no surprise that this is what leads to his downfall.

One bright and sunny day at Wammy's House, Near, as always, decides that, rather than play outside with the other children, he wants to go to his room and play with his toys.

As he walks into his bedroom carrying his extremely large blank puzzle in its box, he accidentally steps on some of his toys with his right foot. Pain seeps through his foot and Near drops the puzzle box to grab hold of his aching foot. As soon as he does this, he loses his balance and falls backward, hitting the back of his head against the dresser in his room.

This renders him unconscious as the tiny green toy soldiers that were sitting on top of the dresser begin to fall… one landing in Near's open mouth and lodging itself in the youth's throat.

It is this day that Near dies from suffocation while being unconscious.

As this tragedy occurs, a monster with blood red wings, wild black hair, and deep bags under his eyes laughs a forced laugh. "Zo zo zo zo!' No... more like 'Kya ha ha ha!"...

**Author's Note:**

**Please Review**


	30. Psychiatrist

**Author's Note: The idea for the previous chapter was put into my head by** **shericka, and aizzoma73 helped me develop the idea.**

Light sits in the waiting room at his psychiatrist's office waiting to be called in.

He was released from the hospital after two weeks of tests being done on him to make sure that he is healthy, and is now being forced to see a psychiatrist based off of the doctors' recommendations and L's advice to his parents.

Light isn't exactly thrilled with the idea that everyone seems to think that he has mental problems now, but he doesn't bother arguing with them. (Granted he has no memory of the tragedy he experienced, but he also is lacking memory of many things that occurred prior to the tragedy).

By now, Light has regained all of his memories related to his family and is able to recognize them as his family once more, and he now has recovered most of the other memories of his past.

He has no memory of the Death Note, L, or anything involving the two though. When it comes to the Kira case, all he knows now is that Kira is killing criminals all over the world and L is trying to catch Kira.

Light is now unable to see Ryuk and now has no knowledge of Misa Amane's existence.

Even though Light now has a clear conscience, he is actually suffering psychological problems. He just doesn't realize it.

When Light is called into his psychiatrist's office, he sees that his psychiatrist (who has "Dr. Yume" posted on his office door), looks a lot like Akira. The only differences are that the man looks more masculine than Akira, looks older than Akira (some wrinkles are beginning to appear on the man's face), and has brown eyes rather than green ones.

Light walks into the psychiatrist's office calmly (for what does he have to fear?) and takes in the scenery. The office is very clean, with plain white walls. On the left side of the room are a desk and a filing cabinet, with many degrees posted on the wall behind them. On the right side of the room is a very simple, though nice and clean, black sofa, and a wooden table is beside the sofa and is near the window. A bookcase is located on the left side of the room near the window, and a lamp is located on the left side of the room near the doorway. The window is large, taking up the majority of the wall it is on, and is located on the wall opposite the entrance to the room. The blinds are open, letting in a soft white light into the room. Overall, the room has a very plain, though soothing, atmosphere.

Dr. Yume motions for Light to take a seat on the sofa and closes the door behind them once they enter the room. Dr. Yume then takes a seat in his chair (which he has moved so it is no longer behind his desk) and finds Light's file as Light takes a seat on the middle of the (three-person seating) sofa, pulling his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

The doctor takes note of Light's strange way of sitting but doesn't say anything about it. Before he begins talking he takes another look over Light's file to make sure he grabbed the right one. Dr. Yume frowns at the file slightly as he sees what it says:

_Light Yagami. _

_Victim of kidnapping, repeated rape, and repeated torture/beatings. Was found bound, gagged, blindfolded, naked, and unconscious when rescued. (It is assumed that he was probably in this condition the majority of the time he was kidnapped). Sustained multiple injuries, including cuts from being whipped, bruises from being beaten, cuts from being cut with a knife, sprained and/or broken bones from being beaten, and a concussion from repeated blunt force trauma to the back of the head. _

_Currently suffers from amnesia. Currently is unable to remember the experience and currently has difficulty remembering a few events that occurred prior to the experience._

Dr. Yume sighs and then puts on a cheerful smile. "Hello, Light. I'm Dr. Yume. It's nice to meet you."

Light nods back.

"Okay, so do you know why you're here to see me?"

"The doctors and my parents think I might be suffering from psychological problems."

"Now why would they think that?"

"Because I had a concussion and was in a coma for two months."

Dr. Yume flinches slightly. "Do you know how you obtained such a head injury?"

"Not really. I'm guessing I must've hit my head too hard or something."

*So no one has told him… Not even Akira?... Strange… Perhaps they all think it's for the best if he doesn't remember?* "Okay, so do you think you need to be here?"

"Not really. I feel fine."

"I see… How about you just come here to humor your family and those doctors then?"

Light raises an eyebrow. "Why would I waste my parents' money like that?"

"Oh, your parents aren't paying for your visits."

"Is their insurance paying for it?"

"Yes." *Well actually they aren't, but I can't exactly tell this boy that the money is secretly coming from the great L himself… Technically I shouldn't even know where the money's coming from… What benefits come from having a psychic son that's working on the Kira case!… Still, it's strange that L would even be interested in this kid's condition…* "Anyway, Light, just so you know, everything that we discuss in this room is confidential. No one else will know what we discuss except for if you want anyone to know. So feel free to talk about whatever you want."

"Okay…" Light takes a look around the room. "Your office is really plain. Clean, but really plain."

Dr. Yume smiles. "Yes. I figure it's best to have my office look this way. It's very simple to keep clean and provides a calming atmosphere."

Light smiles slightly. "You definitely are Akira's dad."

"Of course I am… Oh, and you don't have to worry about me telling him anything we discuss either. I still follow doctor-patient confidentiality even when my own family is involved."

Light nods. "You do realize that even if you don't tell him anything he'll probably know, right?"

"Yes. I'm assuming you know his condition?"

"Yup. He's psychic… I wonder how he'd be if he didn't have those special abilities though…"

Dr. Yume shrugs. "As long as life runs smoothly, it really doesn't matter."

Light raises an eyebrow. "Uh-huh… Your kid's psychic and you don't even care to think about what it could suggest?"

"I would rather not spend all of my time and energy trying to find all of the answers of the universe. I just accept that he's psychic and consider it as a wonderful thing for the time being."

"What about his gayness?"

"His 'gayness'? Well that's a weird way of putting it… Truth be told, I don't really care what he is as long as he lives a good, happy life."

"You don't consider it to be a mental illness?"

"Light, we are not here to discuss my son or my family. We are here to talk about you… And no, I don't think he has a mental illness. I believe his homosexuality is genetic and is completely natural. There's nothing wrong with him."

Light smiles. "Okay. It's a good thing you're his father."

Dr. Yume blinks. *He was just testing me?... This kid…* "Why were you testing me?"

"Just because."

*He's not even going to deny it…* "Is this your way of saying that you are homosexual?"

Light's smile quickly leaves his face. "As far as I know, I'm straight."

"Uh-huh…" *Okay, enough with antagonizing the patient. That's how psychiatrists get killed… And I sure as hell do not want to leave my wife having to take care of five kids… Why the hell did we have to have so many?* "Okay, I apologize. I was just asking. After all, it's very common for patients to discuss other people's sexuality when they are struggling with their own."

"Right…"

"It's true… Anyway, what would you like to talk about?"

"Um… I don't know. There's not much to talk about, right?"

"Yes, I believe so. If there's nothing you want to talk about, I guess we're done for today, Light. If you want you can leave for today."

"Okay."

Light moves his legs to the ground and walks out of the office.

Once Light leaves, Dr. Yume opens Light's file and scribbles a few notes into it:

_Patient appears to have no knowledge of the recent tragedy he has experienced. Avoids talking about himself (perhaps a sign that he is suffering psychologically). May be struggling with his sexuality. Sits like a person does when upset and/or is afraid (a sign that he is consciously or subconsciously suffering psychologically)._

**Author's Note:**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	31. Playing With Fire

**Author's Note: The idea for this chapter was put into my head by** **shericka, and aizzoma73 helped me develop the idea.**

It is a warm afternoon at Wammy's House, and Matt is sitting on the bed in his room, staring at the television screen (which is next to his bedroom door) playing a videogame.

Matt presses the pause button on his game controller and reaches into his left pocket for a cigarette. (Somehow he managed to get his hands on a box of cigarettes even though he is only a teenager).

He takes a match from the box of matches that he had in right pocket and begins to try to light the cigarette with the match. As he does this, the match becomes aflame and Matt's shirt catches fire.

He leaps off his bed and begins flailing his arm, trying to put the fire out. He bumps into his dresser where a bottle of alcohol (has somehow appeared) and it pours onto the television and the floor. Within a matter of minutes, the entire room is on fire and Matt is burning, writhing in agony.

It is this day that Matt dies from smoke inhalation and being burned to death.

As this tragedy occurs, the same monster with blood red wings, wild black hair, and deep bags under his eyes laughs a forced laugh, though it is a different laugh this time. "Ha ha ha ha!' No… more like 'Mwa ha ha ha!"…

**Author's Note:**

**Please Review**


	32. Consideration

_**Phobias and Rationalizations**_

"Hello, Light. Is there anything you would like to talk about this week?"

Light shakes his head. "There's nothing to talk about."

*Again he's saying this?* Dr. Yume sighs and glances out the window for a moment before turning his head back towards Light, who is sitting in the middle of the sofa with his arms wrapped around his legs (which are pulled to his chest). "What your parents have told me suggests otherwise." Dr. Yume begins reading off a piece of paper. "Let's see… Your parents say that you sleep with your light on and refuse to go into a room if the light isn't already on in it... Are you trying to tell me that you consider that normal?"

"Well it's not like I know why I don't like the dark. Otherwise I would think about discussing that."

"Have you ever considered the possibility that it could be connected to the tragedy you've recently experienced?"

Light rolls his eyes. "Honestly, are you still trying to convince me that I've been through something horrible? I think I would remember if something awful happened to me."

"Well you are suffering from amnesia. Most likely you are unable to remember what has happened because of that."

"See? I'm right. How am I supposed to be afraid of something when I don't even remember what happened in the first place?"

"Okay, what about the fact that…" Dr. Yume looks at the paper again. "Your parents say you have a fear of knives now? They've had to remove all of the knives and hide them because it appears you have such a severe fear of them."

"Well it's very easy to accidentally kill yourself with a knife. I'm just being careful. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Okay…" *He's just been rationalizing all of his newfound phobias and the like… This is going to take a very long time.* "My son says that your personality has changed drastically. Now why do you think that would be?"

"The concussion's probably that reason for the personality change, though I honestly doubt my personality's any different from how it used to be."

*This is definitely going to take a long time…*

* * *

**_Spying and Realizations_**

Akira walks into the task force headquarters (aka L's hotel room) and looks at the monitors with a look of disgust on his face. "L, is this really necessary?"

L continues staring at the monitors in front of him. "Yes. This is necessary, Yume-kun. Though Yagami-kun may have amnesia, he could reveal vital information that could help us catch Kira."

Akira sighs. "You still think he's Kira? Seriously? Kira continued his killings even when Light was kidnapped and even when Light was in the hospital – in a coma by the way – for two months. I think it's pretty obvious that Light's not Kira."

"I still suspect that he may be Kira."

"You just want him to be Kira."

L puts his thumb to his lips and mutters "I want him to be Kira? Yes… That may be so…"

L turns around in his chair. "Nonetheless, Yume-kun, there is a very high possibility that he is Kira. After all, his kidnappers died shortly after he was released from the hospital."

"You do realize that that doesn't make Light Kira, right? After all, their names and photos, as well as information of the crimes they committed, were released onto the television. If they hadn't been stupid enough to break out of jail, then Kira probably would never have found out about them. But, of course, they were stupid and so their information was posted all over the news, and Kira was able to kill them as a result."

"There is now an 8% chance that you are Kira."

Akira shakes his head and sighs. "You and I both know that your use of percentages has no real meaning behind it. You don't suspect me any more now than you did a few months ago… Anyway, quit spying on Light's therapy sessions and reading his file. That is totally illegal and immoral."

"I will continue to observe."

L turns back to facing the monitors and Akira frowns while muttering "Even kindergarteners are more considerate than you…"

* * *

**_A Little Known Rule_**

Misa sits on her bed smiling as she looks back and forth between the screen on her laptop and the Death Note. "Rem! It works! Akira's idea was right! Now all I need to do is write some names down like this, and then there's nothing to worry about!"

Misa then writes her first name on one page of the Death Note and writes her last name on a different page of the Death Note. Then she writes Akira's first name on another page of the Death Note and his last name on a completely different page of the Death Note. After that, she writes the first name of her boyfriend (Akira's brother) on one page of the Death Note and his last name on another page. She then lays back on the bed and sighs contently. "Now you don't have to worry about me being killed by the Death Note, Rem, and I don't have to worry about Akira or Takeshi dying from the Death Note ever either."

"Well that's nice to know."

"Yup. I'm gonna tell Akira when he comes over later. He's gonna be so happy!"

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, so those of you that are confused with the last bit of this chapter let me quote a "How To Use" rule for the Death Note that is mentioned in volume 13 of Death Note: "The Death Note will not take effect if a victim's name is written on several different pages. However, the front and back of a page is considered to be one page. For example, the Death Note will still take effect if the victim's last name is written on the front page and first name on the back." This rule never came into play in the actual series though I'm making use of the first line especially in this chapter. I am taking liberty with my interpretation of the rule. I do realize the extent of power I give to the rule probably was unintended when the rule was created.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	33. Sweets Are Murder

**Author's Note: shericka put the ideas for the first two parts of this chapter into my head, and aizzoma73 helped me develop the idea for the first part of this chapter. **

**_Death By Chocolate_**

It is a dark night at Wammy's House and Mello is sitting in his room eating a lot of chocolate and drinking alcohol (that he has somehow managed to get his hands on).

He is rendered unconscious and ends up vomiting while unconscious.

It is this day that Mello dies from choking to death on chocolate and alcohol-filled vomit in his sleep.

As this tragedy occurs, the same monster present at Near and Matt's deaths appears, laughing a different forced laugh. "Heh heh heh heh!' No… more like 'Meh meh meh meh!"

* * *

_**Diabetes: Shinigami Are Sour; Not Sweet**_

L lies in a bed in his room, crying over the deaths of his top three successors… as well as his own impending death, for right now he is dying from diabetes.

He then receives a text message on his cellphone, telling him that Watari is dead, with the cause of death being heart attack.

L throws his cellphone at the wall and it breaks into multiple pieces.

"Damn you, Kira!" He yells. And then he buries his head in his hands, crying.

A little while later, the monster that appeared as Near, Matt, and Mello died appears, laughing "Henh henh henh henh!"

L looks up and his eyes widen. He scoots back in his bed and points at the monster. "Y-you! What the hell are you?"

"Henh henh henh henh! You don't recognize me?"

"No! It can't be! You can't be!"

"Henh henh henh henh! That's right. I'm B." The monster says while a psychotic grin spreads across his face.

"B-but you can't be! You died! Kira killed you when you were in prison!"

"Henh henh henh henh! I may have died, but I'm not dead. I'm a shinigami now."

"S-shinigami? Am I supposed to believe that such things exist?"

"Of course."

"How? How is this possible?"

"Henh henh henh henh! I was born with the shinigami eyes; always able to see everyone's name and lifespan. How did I manage to get them without making a deal with a shinigami for them? I don't know, but somehow it allowed for me to live after I died, though as a shinigami."

"It was you! You killed Near and Matt and Mello! You did, didn't you?"

"Henh henh henh henh! Yes. I did."

More realization then comes upon L. "You killed Watari too, didn't you?"

"Henh henh henh henh! Yes. I did."

"And you're killing me too! Aren't you?"

"Henh henh henh henh! Yes. I am. Within a few minutes you will be dead from diabetes. I have won and you have lost! I've beaten you by using your weakness against you! I've beaten your successors by using their weaknesses against themselves! I have won! Henh henh henh henh!"

* * *

**_(Un)Sweet Nightmares_**

"No!" L shouts as he falls out of his chair at the task force headquarters.

Everyone looks at L for a moment and then they go back to working. Akira walks over to where L is (once L has gotten back to sitting in his chair in his "normal" position), and smacks him on the back of the head.

L is surprised by this and turns in his chair to face a very annoyed Akira. "Yume-kun, whatever is the problem?"

"You know damn well what's wrong! You keep doing this, and it's getting on my nerves! If you're going to keep having nightmares, then quit eating sweets before you fall asleep! You're supposed to be smarter than this! You know eating sweets before falling asleep gives people nightmares! Just because you're different than most people, that doesn't mean you aren't human!"

"I'll be sure to take what you've said into consideration, Yume-kun… Do you believe in the existence of shinigami?"

"What? No. Of course not. Why? Do they keep appearing in your nightmares or something?"

"Yes. One."

"What's it look like?"

"It looks somewhat like me, though a very poor imitation of me..."

Akira smirks. "Perhaps you should see a psychiatrist rather than being sneaky and spying on Light. Rather than bugging my dad's office and reading his files, you should worry about yourself… This is payback…"

"You believe in karma?"

"In a way, and I'm glad karma's being bitchy to you right now. You deserve it."

"I'll take your word for that, Yume-kun." *Whew… Near, Matt, Mello, Watari, and I are all still alive… That's good… Nightmares are horrible!… Maybe I should cut back on the amount of sweets I eat… I wonder if Mello should be the one to succeed me rather than Near. After all, Near could actually die a stupid death like in the dream… Mello has fewer weaknesses even though his emotions can affect his judgment… Hmm… This is definitely something I should consider when I decide who my successor will be…*

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	34. Strange Family

"Good morning, Akira!"

"Good morning, Misa."

"So how're things going between you and Light-kun?"

"Things are going okay."

"Uh-huh… You makin' any progress yet?"

"Kind of…"

"What do you mean by 'kind of'?"

"Well… I think he loves me now, but I'm not sure…"

"Why's that?"

"He doesn't remember too much about me from before his coma…"

"Oh… So how come you think he loves you then?"

"He just gave me a nickname recently."

"Really? That's cool."

"He never had a nickname for me before… It wouldn't go along with his personality…"

"Well his personality's changed now, right? So what's his nickname for you?"

"Aki-sama…"

"Aki-sama?... Hmm… I like it. It suits you."

"Right…"

"What's your nickname for him?"

"Lighty-kun… I only call him that sometimes though. After all, it does sound pretty gay."

"Well you are gay."

"Nah, really?"

"Jeez, you don't have to be like that… Is there anything else that suggests that he may finally be returning your feelings?"

"He's kind of possessive now…"

"Possessive? Is that a good thing?"

"I don't know… What I do know is that he only really becomes possessive when L's around… He seems to think that L's some kind of evil zombie hobo that wants to eat my brain or something…"

"That's… really weird."

"Yeah… He's never said that directly, of course, but he's certainly implied it."

"Well I guess that makes sense. You said that before he wanted to defeat and kill L, right? Most likely his animosity has remained but has transformed into something he can understand now that he doesn't have any memory of the Death Note or of having been Kira."

"Haha. You know, for someone who appears to only have half a brain, you're actually pretty smart… Oh, but please don't talk about such things on the phone. L or someone could be listening in to our conversation."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"It's okay… Anyway, I think you're probably right about that. It does make the most sense for his anger-hatred-whatever to remain though for it to come out differently."

"Uh-huh… Oh, is there anything else that tells you that he might love you now?"

"Um… If I hug him, he actually hugs back… Before he'd be likely to hit me or freeze up…"

"Aw! That's so cute! You know, I'd really like to meet him sometime."

"Yeah, I know… It's still gonna be awhile before that can happen though. It's just that I don't want L to start suspecting you of doing anything… That would be really bad. Especially since we can't just get rid of him now if he finds out too much…"

"Oh, okay… Why'd you write his name down in the notebook anyway?"

"So I can't get rid of him just because… Are you positive that writing a person's name in the notebook like that prevents them from being killed by any Death Note?"

"Yup. I double checked by testing it on about 20 minor criminals."

"Okay, good."

"Hey, now that he's no longer using the notebook, are you gonna continue to have it appear that you both are still using it? I mean, it was a pain when you had me playing two roles at the same time."

"You don't have to worry about that, Misa. In fact, you probably won't have to play any extra roles for me anymore. Now that everything's settled, I will play both roles, and then eventually only one role. You should just enjoy life right now and spend some time with your boyfriend."

"Okay!... Oh, but how do you plan on turning it into one role?"

"First I'm going to play both roles for a little while longer, then I'll take a really long break from both roles randomly one day, and then when I start using the notebook again, I'll only play my role. I'll make it appear that perhaps Kira's had a change of heart or that one Kira has died or something."

"Ah, okay… You know, maybe you should find a way to spend more time with your friend and less time doing you-know-what."

"My-oh-my. Is the little Kira-worshiping model suggesting that Kira should go into retirement?"

"Well, kind of… I just want you to be happy, Akira."

"Thanks, but you do realize that if I were to retire from using the notebook that Ryuk would kill me, right?"

"Oh…"

"Yeah, see? That's the only reason why I really keep using it anymore. I mean, I would love to change the world, but that can be done by other means. I would just need to go into politics and go help the unfortunate and whatnot."

"That's true… If only Ryuk was more like Rem…"

"Yes, that would be nice. Rem has no intention of killing you, whereas Ryuk will kill me when he becomes too bored."

"But Akira, how could Ryuk get bored being around you? I mean, you're a psychic gay guy, your family's really weird, the guy you're in love with has amnesia and psychological issues, you're friends with a model that owns a Death Note, and you're friends with the best detective in the world… I think you're pretty interesting."

"Now that you say it like that… You've got a point there. Just my family alone should be entertaining enough for him… My mom messed with the supernatural when she was younger, but now she's an author and a yaoi fangirl… She's always been a major otaku though, even when she lived in America… It's one of the reasons why she married my dad: because he's Japanese… Oh, and she can't write in Japanese well since it's her second language… My dad's a psychiatrist that has Light as his patient, and he's completely cool with the weirdness of my family… Oh, and he has a tendency to antagonize his patients… My older brother, Takeshi, is dating you and is the only relatively normal family member I have… though you and I both know he's a bit of a pervert… My older brother, Tomah, is a cross-dresser who wants to become a rock star… He's straight somehow though… My older sister, Karman, is secretly a big-time criminal and a detective at the same time somehow… and she pretends to be a lesbian a lot of the time, even though she's straight… Oh, and she pretends that she's jealous of Takeshi and supposedly wants to 'convert you'…"

"That's just creepy."

"I know. She's probably the strangest of my siblings… Anyway, then there's also my little sister, Salem, who's a mad scientist whose dream is to have her own harem someday… Then there's also my cousin, Naomi, who used to be an FBI agent... Oh, and then there's also my cousin, Vera, who's dating my ex-boyfriend… Oh, and she's also one of those people that thinks everything is just a figment of her imagination. Can't say I blame her. After all, she's gorgeous, rich, popular, healthy… She basically has the most cushy, wonderful life anyone could ever have…"

"Are you serious? She's probably the most insane person in your family! Seriously? What, does she think that all of the horrible stuff in the world doesn't happen or something?"

"No. Actually she believes all of the horrible stuff is a figment of her imagination… I told her that if that's the case that she's a b*tch, but she doesn't really care what I think about her. After all, she thinks that I'm a figment of her imagination as well…"

"She's insane."

"I know. That's why I had no problem with my lying loser-of-a-boyfriend being interested in her. That's why I let him be with her."

"Oh, so it wasn't out of kindness?"

"Nope. It was my way of getting revenge."

"That's kind of evil, Akira."

"I know, but that's how it is. I let my liar of a boyfriend end up with my insane cousin… Heh. Even perfect people are imperfect."

"Well obviously your cousin's not perfect if she's completely crazy."

"Yeah, but it's funny that people think she's perfect though. She's good at deceiving people."

"Why would she deceive people if she thinks none of them are real?"

"She does it subconsciously."

"Oh… Yeah, she's completely insane. I don't want you to ever let her anywhere near me. If you do, I'll have no choice but to write her name in the Death Note… You didn't put her name in the Death Note yet, right?"

"No. She's the one family member of mine whose name I didn't write in the notebook... She is insane after all."

"Good. Don't have her come near me or else I'll write her name in the notebook."

"Got it."

"So is there anything else about your family that's weird?"

"I think that about sums it up… Ryuk really should be highly entertained already… I really might stop using the notebook after all…"

"Really?"

"Well… Probably not, but maybe… Anyway, I've gotta go. I have to finish translating my mom's book today so she can give it to her editor with the Japanese looking somewhat normal."

"Okay! Bye-bye!"

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


	35. Wedding

**One Year Later**

During the previous year, what Akira had planned did occur. After about 3 more months of using the Death Note, he just stopped using it, and he hasn't used it since. Light still doesn't remember what happened to him, but he's regained some of the maturity he used to have. (Granted he had some problems with immaturity before and still does, but who doesn't?) Akira, also, has become more mature as time has passed.

The Kira case has gone on hiatus now that Kira hasn't been killing anyone.

During the last few months, Akira's family has been preparing for Naomi's upcoming wedding. (Naomi and Raye had originally planned on marrying sooner, but because of various reasons they postponed it.)

Misa and Takeshi's relationship is still going strong, but as for Akira and Light… well their relationship is still at that strange level where they are more than friends, but less than lovers. They are certainly closer to each other, but it's like they're best friends who like each other but can't just outright say they want to date each other.

L is no longer in Japan as the Kira case has gone completely cold. He's working on other cases now. If new developments occur in the Kira case, he intends to work on it then.

Naomi and Raye's wedding is to occur today.

Everything is prepared. The wedding is to take place at the top of a hill in the countryside. The color scheme is white and black like a traditional western wedding.

Naomi has a long, flowing white gown with a veil while Raye is wearing a sleek black suit.

Takeshi, Misa's boyfriend, is attending the wedding with Misa as his guest. Takeshi is wearing a simple black suit with a white tie while Misa wears a sparkly black cocktail dress with white jewelry.

Akira is attending the wedding with Light as his guest. Akira is wearing a pure white suit; all of his clothes, including his shoes, are white. In contrast, Light is wearing a sensible black suit; all of his clothes, including his shoes, are black.

Naturally, all of Akira's family is at the wedding. Unfortunately, everyone in Akira's family was invited and allowed to bring a guest. This includes Akira's cousin, Vera, who brought her boyfriend, Akira's ex-boyfriend, along with her.

The wedding, itself, goes smoothly. Afterwards, once the cake is cut, the people begin socializing and dancing.

Deciding it to be best to get it out of the way, Akira walks over to his ex-boyfriend (when Vera isn't around), leaving Light, who is in a heated conversation about some topic related to criminal law with Akira's sister, Karman.

"Hey, Jason. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Akira says, awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah. It has." Jason replies. "How've ya been?"

"Good. Good… You?"

"Also good…"

"So I see that you're still dating Vera. How's that going?"

"Fine. You seeing anyone?"

"Ah, no. It's fine though."

"Cool cool…"

"Look, Jason. The reason I came over here was to apologize."

"For what?"

"When I broke up with you, it wasn't out of some, like, kindness or anything like that. I knew you liked Vera and knew that if I broke up with you that you'd try to get with her. I was hoping that she'd reject you coldly or that if she didn't reject you that the relationship wouldn't work out. Obviously neither of those two things happened, but I do feel bad about the intent. So I'm sorry."

"Honestly, it's good that you ended things when you did. Regardless of your intentions, the relationship wasn't going to work out. We didn't really have much in common and I became interested in her while losing interest in you. I was just too chicken to end things. You know? And I could tell that you were starting to get resentful. I didn't really want to lie to you either; not just about liking Vera, but everything else, too. It's just that I couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth, knowing that it'd end things and possibly with a bad end. In the end, it turns out that my dishonesty was the problem and made it so our relationship ended poorly. For that, I apologize."

"It would seem that we both were pretty stupid." Akira laughs.

"It would seem so." Jason chuckles. "Oh, hey, if you want to talk some time, here's my email." He takes out a business card and hands it to Akira.

"Cool. Thanks." Akira says as he pockets the card. "Well, I think I should be heading back to my friend now."

"Sure thing. Who's your friend?"

"He's the guy talking to Karman right now."

"Ah. He's pretty good looking."

"He's intelligent as well."

"Nice. You sure you aren't…?"

"No, no. He and I are just friends."

"Well, alright then."

"I'll be going now."

"Right. Right. Bye."

Akira walks back to the table that Light and Karman are sitting at and takes a seat. Light notices his return. "So, who was that guy you were talking to?"

"Jason, my ex."

"Everything go okay?"

"Yeah. We just apologized to each other for being stupid when we were younger."

"Okay."

"So what have you two been discussing?"

Karman pipes in, "Well, he seems to think the death penalty is necessary to maintain order in a society, while I, personally, think that's a load of garbage. There's so much corruption in the criminal justice system that innocent people are put to death. Even if it's a small number of people, that doesn't sit well with me."

"Well, I guess I'm definitely not getting involved in this conversation then." Akira laughs. A few seconds later, he finds that someone has just splashed dark red wine on his suit. "What?!" He turns sharply and sees his cousin, Vera, looking extremely pissed.

"Vera! What was that for?"

"Why were you talking to MY boyfriend? You have no business talking to him. You two aren't together anymore."

"Vera, I'm not looking to date him. We were just talking."

"Yeah, well, we all know what talking leads to."

Light mutters, "More talking."

Vera glares at him. "And who exactly are you? I've never seen you before."

"I'm Light, a friend of Akira's."

"Akira doesn't have friends. He only has fuck buddies cause he's a disgusting little faggot."

"What? I heard you were crazy, but to find out that you're a bigoted little bitch is surprising. After all, you do know that your boyfriend and he used to date don't you?"

"Oh, he was just confused."

"And how did you determine that? Did he say that?"

"Well, no. I just know."

Misa and Takeshi arrive at the table now. Takeshi sighs. "Vera, what are you doing?"

"Why do you assume I did something wrong? I've done nothing wrong!"

Takeshi points to the stain on Akira's suit. "And I suppose that just magically appeared."

"Yes, exactly."

"Oh cut the crap. We all know you aren't that kind of crazy. You're crazy, just not the type you pretend to be. Own up to your actions."

"Fine. He deserved it though. He was trying to steal my man."

Karman snorts. "Yeah, he totally wants him."

"See? Even Karman agrees!"

"No, you ignorant twat, I was being sarcastic. That ship sailed a long time ago. Akira doesn't want 'your man'. Do you flip out every single time someone talks to Jason?"

"No."

"Then you must be afraid that Jason will leave you for Akira. Now, I'm not saying that Jason won't leave you – in fact, I expect he probably will soon, or at least I hope so – but Akira's not interested in getting back with Jason and I doubt that Jason wants to get back with Akira. And you seriously need to stop with your homophobic bullshit before I cut you."

"It's disgusting and sinful."

"I thought you believed that everything was a figment of your imagination."

"You know damn well that isn't true."

"So you're a liar."

"Everyone lies sometimes."

"That's a pretty big lie though. And if you're going to go with the whole 'being gay is sinful' thing, isn't lying a sin in that sense?"

"I don't have to explain myself."

"Oh Vera, how about you just leave and keep out of everyone's business? Are you capable of that?"

"Hmph!" Vera stomps away.

Misa exclaims, "Well that was something."

Takeshi shakes his head. "That girl seriously needs help. Let's go, Misa."

Misa and Takeshi walk away.

Akira frowns. "Is this suit ruined?"

Karman scrunches up her face. "Since the suit is white it might be okay if you bleach it."

Akira nods.

"So that's Vera, huh?" Light glares in her direction.

Akira and Karman nod.

"Why is it that she's allowed to go around acting like that with no repercussions?" Light continues.

"Her parents think she's this precious angel and they're wealthy. If anyone messes with her, her parents will ensure the person gets into serious trouble." Karman frowns.

"Hm."

A little while later, everyone leaves.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review**


End file.
